The Spy in the Inner Circle
by altairi
Summary: Wonder, what if Voldemort had a spy close to Dumbledore? And is ready to take up his service again now, that his Lord is back? FINISHED! Please RR
1. The Dark Lord's New Rise

Disclaimer: Nothing here belongs to me. Exept the plot, of course. But apart from that it's all J.K.Rowling's. Sad, but true. 'Cause I'd really like to own 'em :)  
  
A/N: Well, what can I say? I really like the HP books and most of the HP fanfics. I was actually half asleep (or should I say daydreaming?) again and then ot occured to me. In GoF JK says, that Snape was a spy against LV. She also tells about the Death Eaters and that nobody actually knew, who they were. Not even all the other DEs. So what if dear Voldie had spys himself? Apart of Peter? A spy nobody would have suspected? Somebody who seemed to be a great supporter of Dumbledore all the time? Somebody who never was accused? Somebody that secret that Voldie always met him all by himself with nobody else around? Who even didn't have a dark mark so nobody could find out about him? And who has lived as an allover respected wizard just awaiting the new rise of his Lord? Somebody like… Well, if you want to find out - you'll have to read this fic!  
What else? Well, I'd really like to dedicate this fic (as if you would really care!) to my beta-reader Luinthoron. Special thanks to him. *waves*  
  
--Altair  
  
  
The Spy in the Inner Circle  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
"Wormtail just told me where I could find the Potters," Lord Voldmort told. He was sitting in an enormous chair of bloodred colour. He seemed to be talking to himself, because there seemed to be no-one else in the room. "You said, Sirius Black was going to be their secret keeper!" His voice sounded threatening.  
"My Lord," came the answer from the shadows. "I really don't know, what happened. I was there myself as James Potter told Dumbledore he was going to use Black. It can't be that Potter distrusts Black. They're like brothers for all I know. But… It's well-known, that they suspect a traitor in the Inner Circle. Maybe they're suspecting Lupin? That would explain a lot."  
"You think so?" The voice of Lord Voldmort was cool as ice, but from the sound of it he had calmed down. And why shouldn't he? This was his most faithful servant he was talking to. A man, who had supplied him with more information about the Resistance than any other of his servants. The man who had revealed to him all the pathetic little spys of Dumbledore. His spy in the Inner Circle.  
"I'm not sure, my Lord," the man in the shadows answered. "But it's the only way I could think of."  
"You're sure, they're not suspecting you?" the icy voice asked. He was answered by a cold laugh from the shadows. "These idiots would suspect James Potter himself before any of them would think I'm a spy of you, my Lord!" The man in the chair nodded. To turn this man into a dark wizard had indeed been his best move so far. And now he was going to make his next. He rose from his seat, but he didn't turn himself to face his servant. "It's getting late," he said. "I will go and take care of the Potters now. I will see you tomorrow again. I want a full report of how the death of the Potters has affected the Resistance. You can go now."  
The man in the shadow bowed his head. "Very well, my lord," he said, before he Disapparated. There never was a 'tomorrow'.  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Dark Lord's New Rise  
  
Almost fourteen years had passed since the day of Lord Voldmort's downfall. Most of his supporters had been captured and prisoned in Azkaban. Those who had been able to clean their names were busy to hold their reputations high. There seemed to be nobody who actually wanted the Dark Lord to come back. Even the Death Eaters. Of course, they were sadistic and enjoyed torturing Muggles and Muggle-born's but even they had gone onwards with their lives.  
Of course, there were also Death Eaters, who wanted Lord Voldmort back. There were the ones in Azkaban, the ones who believed in him and waited for him to rise again to rescue them from this Hell. There was Peter Pettigrew, the Animagus, who had been hiding by the Weasley family and who had been exposured by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin a year ago and who went searching for the Dark Lord then, because he had nowhere else to go. And there was him. The Spy. The one who had to sit at home and to do nothing to find his Lord in order not to jeopardize his cover. He hated it. Not to be searching for his Master just for the safety of his cover. When he had heard about the fatal accident at the Potter's he couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. And everybody else thought he was mourning over the death of Lily and James. These Fools!  
  
It was a beautiful day in june. The event of the Year, the third and last task of the Triwizard Tournament was about to end. Both of the Hogwarts Champions had reached the middle of the maze. They sprinted forward. But then a giant spider appeared in their way. It was about to attack Cedric as Harry hit it with a spell. The spider seemed to change its mind and charged Harry instead. It came to a fight. Both of the Champions worked together and somehow they managed to defeat the monster. But Harry's leg got broken. He and Cedric broke into a heavy argument. Either of them insisted that the other deserved to get the cup. At least they agreed at taking the cup together. They reached for the prize and disappeared from the sight of the audience.  
The boys found themselves on a overgrown graveyard. And as if wouldn't be bad enough, they found themselves facing Lord Voldemort and Wormtail. Harry fell to the ground in pain, as his scar was acheing like his head would explode. He only heard but didn't see it, as Wormtail killed Cedric. The pain in his head was too much to handle. And before he could even defend himself, he found himself dragged to another gravestone and slammed right against it. It was the gravestone of Tom Riddle. Harry remembered that Lord Voldmort was named after his Muggle-father. The Dark Lord's proper name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. So it was the grave of the man who had given life to the most fearsome dark wizard of the century. The grave of Lord Voldmort's father…  
He was being tied up to the gravestone. Tied up by the man, responsible for his parents' death. "YOU!" he cried, but the man didn't response. He just continued tieing him up. And there was Cedric's body lying only a few feet away. And the Triwizard Cup beyond him. And Cedric was dead. Dead! Dead like Harry's parents.  
For an instant Wormtail went away, only to come back with the greatest stone cauldron Harry had ever seen. Peter placed the cauldron at the foot of the grave, starting to make a potion or something alike. Harry didn't know, what. And then Peter helped the pityful shade of what once had been the most powerful dark wizard from a bundle of cloth. He was really ugly, to tell the least. But this was going to change. The servant placed his Master into the potion in the cauldron and Harry found himself wishing it would drown. Wormtail summoned the first material component needed to complete the potion - bone of the Dark Lord's father, crumbled to dust by age, but still useful for reviving his son. Then came the second component. Harry winced by the look of Wormtail picking up a dagger from his cloak and starting to cut his hand off. He closed his eyes but he still could hear the cry of pain… But even this was nothing in compare to what was coming. The last component needed was the blood of the enemy. And Lord Voldmort had insisted that it should be the blood of Harry Potter. So Wormtail cut his right arm open and collected some blood into a glass vial. Then he added it to the potion. And despite all Harrys hope, the Dark Lord rose again, gaining back his body and power.  
And then he summoned the Death Eaters. He took Wormtails other hand, the one which had remaind whole, and he touched the dark mark on his servant's skin. Peter let out a scream of pain, as if he was burning inside. Lord Voldmort let his hand go, just to turn himself to face Harry. Harry could see his catlike eyes. Yes, catlike, despite of their red colouring. He seemed to be talking, but Harry couldn't follow his words. And then the Death Eaters began to arrive. The Dark Lord seemed to be angry with them. He even tortured one of them with the Cruciatus Curse simply because he had asked for the Dark Lord's forgivness for letting him down, for not going looking for him when he disappeared… But he also rewarded Wormtail for finding him and giving him back his body. He conjured a silvery hand for his bleeding servant, for the traitor, who had the death of Harry's parents on his conscience. He also spoke to the summoned Death Eaters. To most of them personally. Harry payd more attention now, trying to remember all the names of the assembled supporters of Lord Voldmort.  
But as the Dark Lord was going to kill Harry he made a mistake. He wanted to kill the Boy Who Lived in a wizardring duel, but Harry managed to escape, taking Cedric's dead body with him back to the castle where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry laid.  
'Well,' Lord Voldmort thought, seeing the boy touching the portkey and disappear. 'Isn't that intresting.' Then he turned himself back to the Death Eaters around him. "He escaped this time," he said icily, "but there's gonna be a next time. And this next time he certainly won't survive. But let him. Maybe it's good that he got away this time. I would have needed a messenger anyway. And he will be a perfect one." He looked at the horrified faces of his followers. "Afraid of what he might be telling to Dumbledore or the Ministry?" he continued with a sneer. "Afraid, that he might destroy your oh-so-perfect reputations by revealing your names?" He seemed to be enjoying the horror in the eyes behind the masks. His voice rose higher and higher. "Afraid, that after all these years you still could end up spending your time in Azkaban? Afraid, are you? ARE YOU?" He almost spelled the last two words letter by letter. But none of the Death Eaters still could find the courage to answer his question. "I'll answer myself," the Dark Lord told after a moment of silence. "You are. You are a bunch of cowards and I really can't think of any reason why I have been punished with servants as you! But I forgive you. I forgive you your cowardry. And I promise you, that the day will come when you will be proud to announce to the world that you are Death Eaters, that you are faithful servants of Lord Voldmort, and that you were the first ones to greet him, when he was reborn!"  
With these words Lord Voldmort turned and walked away, towards the fine old house on the hillside, the house of his Muggle-grandparents, the house, in which he had killed his father, the foolish Muggle who loathed magic and left his mother just because she was a witch. 'He was a fool!' Lord Voldmort thought to himself. An evil grin spreaded himself over his face as he remembered the look of horror on his dying fathers face. It was then, when he had decided to use this house as his base of operations. It was the house in which he had killed for the first time in his life and it seemed to grant him strength and power.  
He entered a room and sat down in a bloodred chair, facing the fireplace, waiting. The messenger was sent out. All he had to do now, was to wait. He knew, his servant from the Inner Circle would be there soon.  
  
  
  
  
A/N: I know, this chapter has been more or less (well, more to be honest) a retelling of the events of chapters 31-33 of GoF in my own words, but it really had to be. I needed Voldie's rerising in this fic and, well, you certainly wouldn't like me to rewrite the whole thing just so I wouldn't need to use the storyline of J.K. No. But I really really really needed this part, 'cause this fic's supposed to be about what happened after LV came back. So please, don't flame just because of that.  
Before I forget this. English is not my native language (it's Estonian, if you care) and I had it only 1,5 years at school, so please forgive me, if I've made some really bad mistakes in grammar. Or in the choice of words. Although my beta-reader, Luinthoron (*waves* "Hi, Luinthoron!" Read his fics as well, they're really good. Especially the one called 'Draco Liber' He's currently working on chapter three of that thing. Oops! I ment to say, fic. *looks around* I think he didn't hear that… *wipes her head*), is better in English than me, he never learned it in school (and he is an estonian too, so English isn't his native language either), so there may be some mistakes in the language left even after he has read (and made some corrections in) it. Well, that would be all, for now. Did you like it? Did you? Well, I suppose not. But in case you did, please rewiew. 'Cause if you guys liked it, I will write more. And I will reveal to you the person of the spy. I promise.  



	2. A Servant Returns

Disclaimer: Characters are JKR's. *sighs* I'd really like to own them, but she got them first :(. So I'm just borrowing them. I'll give them back, after this fic is finished, so please don't sue me. I mean, this is supposed to be a fanfic. If I would own the characters, it wouldn't be a fanfic anymore, now would it?  
  
A/N: Beta read by Luinthoron. But it still could have some little (or bigger) grammar or writing errors. Don't be mad at me. As I said already at the end of the former chapter, I don't speak English as my native language and as far as I know I'm really horryble at it. And as there is no such thing as a speller for English in this stupid little laptop of mine… well, you got the idea :)  
This chapter goes to my beta-reader Luinthoron *waves* and to Dru, who's the first person who ever reviewd this fic (*thinks* hey, Dru, have I missed something or when did McGonagall turn into a man?! *thinks: I really think I described the spy as 'the man in the shadows'…*)  
  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter Two: A Servant Returns  
  
It was late at night already. The Dark Lord still sat in his chair, looking into the dancing flames in the fireplace, waiting. His left hand was hanging from the arm-rest, holding a glass of brandy. He didn't doubt his servant to come, but it took too long this time. He was not used to waiting. This was really beginning to annoy him.  
The cover, he reminded himself. He had ordered himself that this servant of his was never allowed to risk his cover. It had been too hard to get a spy that trusted by his enemy. He was of too great value to risk loosing him.  
Lord Voldemort brought his glass to his lips, enjoying the taste of his drink. He hadn't had a chance to enjoy the life for almoust fourteen years. And now it was his turn to fave some fun. He almost pitied the Muggles and Mudbloods. Now, that he was back, he would surely show them a thing or two. Muggles - who needed them anyway? The world would be a much enjoyable place without them in it. Well, there was no reason why the world couldn't become a fully Muggle-free place. He was back now, more powerful than ever, and he was going to rule the world. Who was about to going to stop him? This Potter boy? He let out a snort of high cruel laughter. The boy was going to be killed any time soon. Young Bartemius Crouch, the loyal servant he had placed in Hogwarts, would take care of him, no doubt. Who else? Cornelius Fudge? That man was incapable of doing anything by himself. Lord Voldemort still couldn't understand how this man ever could have been made the Minister of Magic. Dumbledore? Yeah, he certainly was a problem. The Dark Lord often wished he could have convinced the school's headmaster to become a dark wizard. He had potential to become one of the greatest dark wizards in the world, if he just would discard this whole goodness thing. He was not to be underestimated. But then again, Lord Voldemort had never underestimated him in the first place. Dumbledore was a wizard of great power and the Dark Lord admitted it. But this was not going to be enough to defeat him this time. His powers were greater now and he would use them to their full extend, knowing that Dumbledore would never use his powers to that limit, just to not use any dark magic.  
Not that it would matter, anyhow. All he had to do, was to bond a new alliance with some of his former poweful allies. The dementors, in first place. And, of course, the giants. Not that they would have been a pleasant folk to deal with. But they were so easy to manipulate with, and they were really powerful too. They were this type of creatures you would like to have as allies just so you don't have them as enemies. The Dark Lord always had had a certain power over other. A high charisma, some would say. It was part of his nature. He always had been good at manipulating with people.  
He took another swig from his glass. It was way over midnight but there was no sign of the spy yet. Well, if Harry had the chance to tell in school about his little adventure, they most likely have started taking countermeasures at the Ministry by now. And Dumbledore is being called for counceling. That should take at least another few hours.  
In all this time it never occurred to him, that it could have been possible, that his spy has swiched sides and is about not to turn up at all. Which would have been a very wrong thing to think. The special spy was, of course, gathering information for his Lord. He discussed the rumours about the Dark Lord's return with Minister Fudge and was more than surprised to find the man denying the evening's events. He also hurried to Hogwatrs to "make sure that Harry is OK" and to discuss the same rumours with headmaster Dumbledore, to offer his help in the reorganization of the Resistance and to hear about what steps are taken to fight the Dark Lord. It was almost morning when he finally got up, saying good-bye to Dumbledore and saying he was leaving for work.  
  
It had been a long night for Lord Voldemort. He had been too eager to hear the spy's report to find some sleep. So he had spent entire night sitting in his chair, making up some good new plans for taking over the world and sipping his brandy. Not much of it, of course. Just enough to get the taste of it. He hadn't, after all, had a drink in over thirteen years!  
Outside the house the sun was shining brightly, but inside, behind the drown curtains, the Dark Lord sat in almost complete darkness, the only lightsource being the fire in the fireplace. Oh, how he loved the flames. The flames gave him a feeling of freedom. He had loved watching the flames since he had been at school. Ever since that he had wanted to drown the world into fire, watching the flames growing, everburning.  
"My Lord!"  
The man sitting in the chair did not stand up, neither did he look around. He just continued looking into the fire. "I've been waiting for you," he said.  
"I feel inconsolable for letting You waiting so long, my Lord," the man in the shadows answered with a light bow towards the Dark Lord. "Although my coming so late has a good reason. I've been up all night, collecting news about what the wizardring world is going to do about You having come back. And I am sure, You will like most of it."  
"So go on, my friend," Lord Voldemort encouraged him. "I want a full report of what has happened last night."  
"I'm afraid, You won't like the first thing I have to say, though," the spy continued, still standing in the dark corner of the room. "They have given Bartemius Crouch the Dementor's Kiss…"  
The man in the chair was shaking with anger. His voice remained icy and calm. "Tell me about it," he demanded.  
"He was captured by Dumbledore," the spy began. "He blew his cover by taking Harry with him after Dumbledore had strictly told him not to move from the space. The real Alastor Moody would never have removed Harry from Dumbledore after what happened. He was captured by attended murdering of Harry Potter. He was also questioned under the Veritaserum by Dumbledore. This fool Fudge went to question him later with a dementor with him. Well, let's say it that way - he wasn't able to ask even one single question."  
Lord Voldemort nodded. Even though it was impossible for the man in the shadows behind him to see this, it seemed like he knew what was happening.  
"So, that brings us to the second point of what I'd like to say. Fudge, that filthy idiot, is refusing to belive that You have returned, my Lord. He is not taking any precautionary measures of any sort. He is also not going to make a statement to the wizardring world. Little Harry has revealed the names of all the Death Eaters he heard here to him, but as they were able to clear their names thirteen years ago, he's thinking, Harry is making up this whole story and he is not paying any attention to the boy's words. Thanks to News Girl Skeeter he is not likely to believe any word of what little Harry may have to say. You may have heard of her last report "Harry Potter 'Disturbed And Dangerous'". Harry keeps having those horrible headaches with sometimes visions about You, my Lord. Dumbledore's positive, that's because of the failed curse that give him his scar and took You away from us for years. But thanks to that and the fact that he can speak parseltongue, Skeeter has managed to make him a very distrusted witness."  
"The boy speaks parseltongue?" the icy voice from the chair asked.  
"Another side-effect of the curse, so Dumbledore, my Lord," the servant explained. "He has also visited the Chamber of Secrets two years ago as the Chamber was opened due to an old diary of yours, my Lord. A rather amusing plan by Lucius Malfoy, that happened to fail."  
"Anything else of importance?" the Dark Lord asked.  
"Well, my Lord, there's something about Dumbledore. And I'm afraid that's not so pleasant to hear. He happenes to belive the words of Harry Potter as he also knows about the effects this old curse had on the boy. Dumbledore also heared the statement of late Crouch. So he is definetly organizing the Resistance and he has already taken measures if I may say so. He is counting on the help of the giants and is intending to send the halfbreed Hagrid as an envoy to them. He will be accompanied by the headmistress of Beaubaxton."  
"Old Rubeus Hagrid?" the man in the chair laughed. It was the same sadistic laugh Harry had been hearing in his nightmares for almost fourteen years by now. "Oh, I remember him. Blamed him as I opened the Chamber of Secrets myself… He was expelled, wasn't he? Is he still gamekeeper at Hogwarts?"  
"Um… yes, that too. He's teaching Care of Magical Creatures now, my Lord" the voice answered from the shadows. He continues after a little pause. "About Dumbledore…"  
"There's more about him? Well, I can't say, I'm surprised. So, what is he up to?  
"Well, I just wanted to mention, that by organizing the Resistance again, he is acting strictly against Fudge's orders. I recon it could be to our favor. He also is contacting the old Resistance. Sirius Black was already at the school, taking orders. He is to alert the others. And, by the way, I offered Dumbledore my help. He has accepted it, as expected." The man laughed. The could laughter was almost as cruel and sadistic as Lord Voldemort's.  
"Very well," the Dark Lord said. "You have done a good work. I am glad I didn't had to be disappointed in you."  
"Thank you, my Lord," the servant murmured. He was talking very quietly now, but still the Dark Lord could hear every word of what he said. "I also hear, that the traitor Snape is going to join the Resistance again."  
"He will be punished, I will look for that." Lord Voldemort was still facing the fireplace. He stood up just to add some wood into the fadeing fire. Then he returned to his chair. The flames in the fireplace grew higher, bringing light into the dim room. "On a brighter side," the Dark Lord asked his servant, "if may I ask, how is your family? I recon you have children?"  
"Yes, my Lord. I have even children at Hogwarts. And if I may add, they are very close to Harry Potter." The man took a step closer. His face still was covered in the shadow. "To be precise, it was my daughter who was used to open the Chamber of Secrets again…" with those words Arthur Weasley stepped out from the shadows.  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well I hope you did enjoy this as much as I did enjoy writing it. I bet most of you knew already who the spy was, after finishing the first chapter. But if you didn't… well, you do know now. Surprised? I don't think so. Well, if you want to know, what happenes next, please review.   
Oh, and the next chapter may take a little longer. 'Cause me and Luinthoron are using the same computer and well, we can't write both at the same time. But hey - I'm still a faster writer than he, so it really doesn't matter.  
And now, kindly review!  



	3. How To Kill Harry Potter

  
Disclaimer: If any of you just for a single moment thinks the characters are mine, I really have to doubt if he/she has ever read the HP books. 'Cause I really always thought they were J.K.Rowling's. And I assure you, I'm not her (not that I would mind to own Harry and CO)  
  
A/N: As usual, beta read by Luinthoron. *waves at the BlueEagle* and (bet you guessed it!) also dedicated to him. As he read the previous chapter he grinned and promised to kill me for 'Arthur Weasley the Spy' at the same time :). And to Puzzler for being so sweet and offering to beta read it too (for grammar and writing…). *thanks Puzzler a lot* Puzzler's my second beta reader now. I hope this makes this fic easier to read (after all - with two beta readers, shouldn't they be able to correct all the little and big errors that might slip in?). Thanks to all who reviewd, too. I love reviews. Write some more, please? Then I'll write more, too. Well, I'll write more anyway, but it would still be nice to know what you think of it.   
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter Three: How To Kill Harry Potter?  
  
Arthur Weasley stepped out from the shadows. But apart from his tall body and his flaming red hair and his face, covered with freckles, he didn't appear like the nice Mr Weasley everyone knew at all. This Arthur Weasley had a voice cooler than ice and he wore a sneer that would have made Lucius Malfoy jealous. His eyes, mirroring the flames in the fireplace, seemed to burn. The cruel sadistic laughter also didn't seem to fit him, but as there was no-one else in the room, it had to be his. He went over to his Master's chair and stopped right behind it, resting his arms on the back of the chair.  
"I also hear that you have arranged this Muggle Protection Act…" Arthur couldn't see the Dark Lord's face, but he could almost hear him sneer.  
"Well, they are an dying race, my Lord." He grinned. "And we at the Ministry have to take care for the fading races. Besides, what better cover could I have than being known as the Muggle-lover?"  
Lord Voldemort just nodded. The man had a point in this one, he thought to himself. Would he suspect someone that fond of Muggles and Muggle-Artifacts to be his ally? Most likely not. He admitted to himself that he admired his spy's gift for deception. Most of the Death Eaters were lacked the self decipline to convince anyone that they were his enemies. But Arthur Weasley was all he could ever possibly look for in his servants - he was cold, cruel, calculating, refined, but above all that - he was a hell of a convincing actor.  
"What better cover could you have, indeed? I'm pleased to see you have built up such a good reputation. We will need your connections at the Ministry soon enough." Lord Voldmort seemed to be thinking for a moment. "You said your children are quite close to Harry Potter?"  
"Yes, my Lord, they are indeed. My youngest son Ronald is one of young Harry's best friends. The other one is a filthy Mudblood girl called Hermione Granger. My twin sons Fred and George are in the same house, too. They're playing in the house Quiddich team together. They're good friends, too. And my daughter Ginny fancies him, I think. Young Harry often visits the Burrow in their summer vacations, if I may add, my Lord."  
"He visits the Burrow? That's interesting. Go on."  
"He always spends the end of their summer vacations with us. He has since their first year. But if you are planning to kill him over summer, may I ask for the favor not to do it in my house, my Lord? My reputation in the wizarding world would suffer and I doubt this would do any good to my duties to you."  
"What do you suggest then? I'm more than willing to hear any alternatives you may have."  
"Well, my Lord, he spends the end of their holidays by us. But after the end of the term he always goes back to his Muggle relatives. He can't use any magic there, due to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. And besides that his aunt's family would kill him themselves if he would cast any spells there. They don't seem to be fond of magic at all."  
"So you're requesting that eliminate the boy earlier in the summer when he's with this Muggle family of his?" the Dark Lord asked. His brain worked with lightspeed. If he killed boy at Weasley's his spy could get into serious trouble for not preventing this. On the other hand - he couldn't kill the boy as long as he remained in his relations' care. Besides, he wanted to kill the boy in the world of the wizards. But that didn't mean he couldn't frighten the boy before killing him. He could kill all his filthy Muggle relatives and make the boy lose his family again. Yes, he could make the boy suffer for those years he, Lord Voldmort, had to hide, with no more body left. The boy was underaged, that would mean he would end up in one of those Muggle orphanages he had to grow up in.   
"Oh, no, my Lord," Mr Weasley answered. "Dumbledore's spells would not let anyone harm the boy there. But it would be good to tempt the boy to using magic in their house. Even if he's not getting expelled from school if it's going to be for self-protection, his aunt and uncle will kick him out from the house the minute he uses magic under their roof. And if they see that having Harry in the house can lead to visits from dark wizards trying to kill him, they're doing it without a second thought just to ensure their own safety."  
"Really?" Lord Voldmort asked. He could almost see young Harry Potter locked up in his old orphanage. He had hated it. It had been almost as awful as being imprisoned in a cell. He had never heard a kind word in that house. Ever. Which would be the reason why the orphange didn't exist anymore. It had been the first Muggle institution he had wiped off the face of earth after becoming the Dark Lord. He had done it all by himself. He had gone to the orphanage one evening, pretending he wanted to visit the place he had grown up in. And then he had killed all the inhabitants of the house by blowing it up. These screams of the dying Muggles had been like music to his ears. He loved to hear Muggles crying in the pain of their death. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. "And just when could I kill the boy according to your plan?"  
"Oh, that's simple, my Lord. Someone just has to wait outside the house. After the family has rejected him, he's going to be as helpless as a newborn baby. All you have to do, my Lord, is to make sure he's thrown out by his aunt's family. Due to the fact his family is Muggles their house is not connected to the Floo Network, so he can't get out of there by Floo powder. He'll have to take the Knight Bus. But to stop the bus he would have to be outside the house. And outside the house it would be possible to kill him, my Lord."  
This idea had potential, Lord Voldemort admitted. He wondered why he never thought of it in first place, but then again, he didn't know the relationships between Harry Potter and his Muggle family were that strained. He had always assumed the family would at least like the boy, but from what he had just heard from his servant, they hardly tolerated his existence. But still. Killing some Muggles would be nice. He hadn't done that for almost a whole year now, ever since that idiot Frank Bryce had come up here at night and overheard the conversation he was having with Wormtail. It had been the only time Lord Voldmort had ever regretted a murder. And even then it wasn't like he would have cared about the old man. It was just so hard to find a new keeper and gardener for the house. The house with its history of three dead people was too spooky. And the ones interested in the job were too inquisitive. All Lord Voldemort needed was a Muggle to keep the garden intact. But after the last gardener's mysterious disappearance (his body was never found) it was impossible to get decent replacement for him.  
"I will think about it. Is there anything else of importance?"  
"No, my Lord."  
"That would be all, then. You may go." He seemed to wonder if he wanted to add something or not. After a few seconds he added "I'll be waiting for your report tomorrow. "  
  
Arthur Weasley, father of seven children and husband to Molly Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic and spy for Lord Voldemort Apparated to the Burrow. It was 7.30 AM and he hadn't got a minute of sleep the whole night. But he didn't feel sleepy at all. On the contrary, he felt like celebrating. His Lord was back again and he could be useful to him! He could help the Dark Lord taking over the world! He could help his Lord making a fool out of that idiot Fudge…  
He opened a bottle of wine, filled his glass and sat down on the living room sofa. He didn't drink often, but this time he really needed it. He needed to celebrate the return of his Master and if he couldn't do it by some Muggle-torturing just because it would blow his cover he would at least get himself drunk on the occasion.  
  
Half an hour later Molly Weasley discovered her husband fast asleep on the living room sofa, an empty bottle of wine on the table before him and a pile of glass-splinters on the floor. Oh, God, she thought to herself as she began to clean up this mess. Arthur has never been a drinker before. It's all because of You-Know-Who being back! It has to be! Oh, why couldn't he just remain dead or whatever he was? Poor Arthur, I'm sure he was drinking because he was so upset about Harry's situation. He loves this boy like our own kids. And You-Know-Who almost killed him that night. No wonder Arthur's drinking…  
  
If only she knew the truth…  
  
  
  
A/N: I just wanted to thank those who have reviewd this far. Thank you's go to: Dru, Clio, leanne, Tatiana, Puzzler (you liked Voldie's POV? Well, I liked writing it, too), Ludigein (well, he DID ask Molly if he can count on them so I just assume, they were working together the first round, too), Zhen Lin (I just do. There's nothing you could do about it), MMM (I don't know, but I was sure, Malfoy didn't know about him being a spy for their side), ~*Dumbledore's True Love*~ (grammical errors? s'ppouse I'm not the only one who has problems with English :))  
  
  
A/N2: I still don't speak English as my native language, so please have a heart and don't flame just because grammar etc. If you don't like the plot, you're more than welcome to flame. The weather has been very cold here the last few days, so I could use some. Please review. *makes puppy eyes* Please?   



	4. The Giants

  
Disclaimer: Well, as I already said in the previous three (oh, God, am I really already by chapter four?!) chapters - THESE ARE NOT MY CHARACTERS! Anyone who assumes that they are should read J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter books more often. All the characters in this fanfic belong to her. Well, almost all characters. I'm sending an envoy of Lord Voldemort to the giants and as there are no giants mentioned in the books, they will certainly be mine. But apart from that - I'm just borrowing them so I can write this… um… thing.  
  
A/N: Beta read by Luinthoron *waves at BlueEagle* and Puzzler *waves "Hi!"* I really wouldn't know what to do without them… This chapter is, of course, dedicated to these wonderful persons with great thanks from my side. And something else. Just in case you wondered. I'm not a fan of Lord Voldemort. I just found that idea of this particular spy so intriguing that I just had to write it down. I still don't understand how you all liked it, but hey, it's really fun to write an evil person for a change :).  
Sorry it took so long with this chapter. We had some very big holidays this weekend (Midsummer Night, the night 23th to 24th of June are like the most important holidays in Estonia, right next to Christmas and some native stuff). And then there was this mess with the Emails. I finished the chapter on Monday and sent it as an attachment to Puzzler but the attachment went lost so I had to send it to her again. I was going to post it yesterday, but a friend of mine I hadn't seen in ages asked me to go to the town with her. As a little apology I made this one a little longer than the previous ones. And I'm already working on chapter five. I hope you enjoy this…  
Oh, and before I forget it - the disclaimers and A/Ns are not beta read.  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter Four: The Giants  
  
"You wished to see me, my Lord?"  
"Yes, step closer. I have a job for you. And don't you dare to fail your mission for it will be of great importance"  
"My Lord, I'm so grateful you chose me. I will not disappoint you, my Lord. What do I have to do?"  
"You have to immediately leave and make your way to the giants. They were my allies last time, but as I hear, Dumbledore has intended to make them work for his side this time. I cannot let this happen. So you have to reach them first and make sure they will join my forces and distrust Dumbledore's envoy."  
"My Lord, I really don't think that Dumbledore would consider contracting with the giants…"  
"Are you doubting my words?!"  
"No, my Lord. I just wondered where could you hear something like that from…"  
"This, Lucius my friend, is none of your business. I have my ways. I only can tell you that this information is absolutely reliable."  
"Yes, my Lord."  
"Very well. You can go now. You have to leave earlier to ensure you are there before Rubeus Hagrid is."  
  
A month had passed since the last incident and it was time for the term end at Hogwarts. It was the day when Professor Dumbledore let the school know that Lord Voldemort was behind Cedric Diggory's death. It was the day when Harry's name was cleared in the eyes of those who had been reading Rita Skeeter's article and thought that Harry was capable of murdering Cedric just to win the Triwizard Tournament. It was also the day when Lord Voldemort's envoy Lucius Malfoy finally got the answer from the giants.  
It hadn't been a visit he had been looking forward to. He didn't like the giants. He never had. But he also didn't want to work against Lord Voldemort's orders because he knew just how the Dark Lord punished those who worked against him. Nothing good awaited those who angered him. And Lucius really didn't want to know just what Lord Voldemort could do to him if he acted against him. He really didn't want to find out.  
The giants lived in mountain areas far away from England. Another reason for Lucius to hate this journey. He wasn't really fond of long trips. And if you had to travel to a place just to speak with someone as unpleasant as the giants… well, you get the idea. And of course the fact that he wouldn't be able to be at platform 9 and 3/4 to welcome his son for the holidays. That was the part that made him hate this journey the most. He didn't want to disappoint his son. He had promised to Draco to be at the station. And now he had to write to his son to tell him that he was chosen to serve the Dark Lord by representing him at the giants. Of course Lucius knew that Draco would be proud that his father was chosen for a such important task, but still. He really wanted to see his son. After all, Draco had been at school for almost a year (as always) and the little time they had off school at summer... Most of the wizarding world would have doubted this, but Lucius really loved his son and he had been spending all the days of Draco's holidays with him for three years now. His son was growing up now, he needed his father to be there for him, to be a role-model for him. Well, he was being a role-model, showing Draco how to serve the Dark Lord, but that meant he wasn't able to spend time with his son.  
There was something else bothering Lucius apart from that. Who was the one who had been giving away information of that value to the Dark Lord? That had to be someone close to Dumbledore… But the man was too clever to let himself be fooled by some Death Eaters. They had tried it before, but they had never suceeded. And any attempts to infiltrate someone to Dumbledore's people had ended badly. Their last try had been Severus Snape. And he had gone and betrayd the Lord and became a servant of Dumbledore's and he spied against their Master. Lucius could remember how the Dark Lord had announced that Severus Snape had swiched sides. He had asked how Lord Voldemort could think of something like that of a faithful servant like Severus. Lucius never forgot that moment. Never before had he experienced the horrors of the Cruciatus Curse on himself. He remembered the words of the Dark Lord, the words he had said while he was torturing him via the curse. "Never underestimate the power of Lord Voldemort. And never question my information when it comes from this source." He wasn't going to make the same mistake again. But still. He really wondered who would be the one who worked for their side? Who would be able to fool Dumbledore himself?! Well, whoever this was, he had Lucius' full respect.  
When he was finally there, he was amazed bt the houses of the giants' town. Lucius had never known that the giants were such an art-loving people. Well, appearently they were. Their houses were of artistic workmanship, even if they were of enormous size. He still didn't like being here, but he couldn't help but admire the beautiful buildings here. And he was delighted that as they were protected by Muggle repelling charms and the town was made unplottable, no Muggle had ever laid his eyes on this beauty.  
Soon enough he had reached the ruler of the giants, a huge but blindingly beautiful lady called Violet. She had long silky black hair and sparkling amethyst eyes. Well, it really wasn't that surprising that she was pretty. Giantesses tended to look like works of art. But she was more than that. She had magical powers herself and she had studied in Beauxbatons and was a fully educated witch. She also happened to be very smart. Already after the first few words Lucius had noticed the warmth in the giantess' voice. They weren't so cruel and bloodthirsty as people wanted to believe. They just happened to be gigantic. But they were a rather frightening force as an enemy.  
Past years hadn't left without leaving their marks on the giants' community. Their ruler from Lord Voldemort's last time, Marasmus, had passed away. Now was it up to Lucius to convince the late Marasmus' daughter Violet to join forces with the Dark Lord. And it wasn't going to be easy. The woman was too smart to let anyone tell her what to do. He decided to play on Violet's love for her father and on the promise her father gave Lord Voldemort while making the contract with him. He was pretty good at estimating people and he was positive that this would be the right button for him to press.  
"My Lady, it's so good to see you again," Lucius began, taking lady's hand and kissing it politely. He hadn't even have to bow to do this.  
"Oh, Lucius Malfoy, if I'm not mistaken. Seems that you haven't forgot us after all. What brings you this far from England?" she smiled  
"My Lady, you may have heard that Lord Voldemort has returned from exile.."  
"There were rumours, yes. But I don't see what brings you all the way up to us," she answered softly. Lucius could see that she was on her guard now. He had to make his move earlier than he had thought.  
"My Lady, your late father Marasmus was a good friend of Lord Voldemort…" Lucius continued with a voice sweeter as honey. He just knew how to talk to women, he always had.  
"Oh, I know he was. We helped him a lot as he had to fight the other wizards, you know that. I was fighting too, as you surely remember," she smiled.  
Oh, how could he have forgotten this. He had been all too surprised to find a pureblood giantess with the powers of a witch. She had been one of the bravest giants fighting in this war evil against good, and one of the youngest. Most of the Death Eaters had admired her for her fighting skills as much as for her beauty and thought it was a shame she was born as a giantess not as a pureblood witch. But this didn't matter now. Not anymore. He nodded to show that he remembered.  
"As you may know," he told with the same sweet vioce, "your father made a contract with Lord Voldemort, my Lady, in which he promised our Lord the help of the giants. Lord Voldemort has indeed risen again and he is asking to fulfill your promise. You certainly wouldn't want to make your dear father a liar?"  
Bingo! Lucius could see that this one had hit and scored.  
"Oh, no, of course not. You have always been so nice to us, trying to make the wizards' community accept us as we are. And I'd really like to help you. I just have to consult with my counsellors. You can stay in my house while you wait."  
And now a month had passed with Lucius still staying by the giants and waiting for their answer. He knew, Lady Violet was doing all she could to make the giants join the sides with Lord Voldemort. He also knew that the giants would probably join the Dark Lord anyway out of respect for their late ruler. But he also knew that they would consider all arguments pro and con carefully and so he just tried to make his time there as good as he could. And being a guest of the giants' mistress was enough to ensure plenty of entertainment. The food wasn't bad either. He missed some specific English foods but then again, there were some dishes he didn't know and which turned out to be rather tasty. He had already considered to employ a giant cook back home.  
Lucius was prepared to face another day full of waiting when lady Violet suddenly came up to him (he was staying in a room high in the tower) in the morning and asked him to accompany her to the meeting this day. Lucius was more than glad about the invitation. He had been here for... how long had it been? A month? Well, it seemed to him like ten. He was in hurry now. He had managed to convince the giants that Dumbledore was going to try to fool them into working for him with some help from two half-giants he had frightened into working for him. Lucius had really wondered at how easy to manipulate the giants were. They had really bought that! How could they be that stupid? That naive? For a moment, just for a single moment he felt a sudden urge to yell into their faces that they were being fooled and manipulated by him that very instant but he knew better than to do that.  
It was about lunchtime when he was led to the council. Lucius hadn't been this nervous in years. This was it. The moment of truth. The big moment he had been waiting for for about a month now. He sighed and entered the room.  
"Lucius Malfoy, you are here as an envoy of Lord Voldemort and your intention has been to work out a new alliance between us, giants, and you, wizards. You also have been so kind to warn us of the slippery words and promises Dumbledore's envoys will use to convince us. We thank you for the last part. As what concerns the first part, we have made up our minds and we are not going to back off later. We will renew the contract made by lord Marasmus and we will help you with all we can in this battle." It was Violet who spoke. The other, older and wiser giants, sat in a oval room around a long table and nodded approvingly. "We will discuss the conditions of the new contract later so you'll be able to speak with your Lord beforehand."  
  
Three days later Lucius was finally back at home, exhausted. He just had enough time to say hallo to Draco before taking off to see his Master. At half past seven in the evening he finally got to Lord Voldemort's secret base of operations.  
"My Lord, I'm back with news from the giants…"  
"Very well. What do they say? Are they with me in this war?"  
"Yes, my Lord. It seemes they have already made up their minds. And, of course, I made them believe that the two half-giants were tricked into working for Dumbledore. It really seemed to impress them." Lucius grinned.  
"Did they say anything else of importance?" the Dark Lord asked.  
"Yes, my Lord. They want us to go through all the conditions for the new pact and they will do the same. They also wanted us to meet them on Tuesday in two weeks. They will do the same."  
"Thank you, Lucius, my friend. You may go now. I'll let you know when I'm ready. But now I have to think. ALONE!!"  
Lucius Disapparated into the night.  
"Well, did you hear that?" the Dark Lord asked facing the fireplace. He was answered with a sneer back from the shadows.  
"Yes, my Lord," said the voice of Arthur Weasley. "And I can't wait to see Dumbledore's face when he finds out!" This statement was followed by a cruel, icy laughter.  
  
  
  
A/N: So, I made the giants working against Dumbledore! Well, sue me. I won't be changing that one.. It's not like I'm a great fan of… well… You-Know-Who, but I thought it would be interesting when Dumbledore won't get the allies he wants. Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna kill any characters. Well… not yet *grins evilly* No, really. I promise I won't kill Harry. Or any other members of the Dream Team. Or Dumbledore. Or my two favorite villians Atrhur Weasley and Lord Voldemort. Well, not any time soon, that is. But there always can be a change in my plans, it's really not up to me…:).  
Oh, and something else. Please, review, please? Please? *crosses her fingers behind her back* Please? 'Cause it would mean a lot to me…  



	5. An Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: Do you know how difficult it is to come up with a new disclaimer each chapter? I'm really running out of ideas soon. But still. I don't own anything. It's all our wonderful J.K.Rowling's. Oh, I just wished I could write like this!  
  
A/N: As always, I'd like to thank my exellent betas Luinthoron *waves* and Puzzler *Hi!*. So, what else is new? Well, it seems like I'm not killed by any of Atrhur Weasley fans. It's obvious, isn't it? I mean, I have to be alive, I couldn't post this chapter otherwise. Oh, I've never been that glad I'm Estonian in my entire life. I mean, no-one from you can come and kill me via Avada Kedavra because *sings* no-one knows where I live :) *stops singing*. Well, you got the idea. Oops! I forgot completely about Luinthoron! He may be my beta, but he still is really angry with me for making Arthur Weasley a bad guy. So if he's not going to kill me any time soon, there will be a next chapter (and then another one and another one etc.). In the meantime - enjoy! And if you're still having too much spare time after reading this one, try out my other stories, OK?  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter five: An Unexpected Visitor  
  
"I see," Professor Dumbledore sat back in his chair, sighing hard. Hagrid had just returned from the giants and he hadn't brought good news. "So Lord Voldemort was there first. And he has already managed to talk the giants into joining him again."  
Hagrid just nodded, unable to speak in his worry. There had been only one giant who had accepted to join Dumbledore's forces, a woman who had come back with Hagrid, a giantess named Fridwulfa, the giantess who just happened to be Hagrid's long-lost mother. The three of them were sitting in Dumbledore's office, Fridwulfa telling Hogwarts' Headmaster about what happened at the giants a few weeks ago. Her son, appearantly in shock, was stiller as usual.  
"I am afraid it is so," Fridwulfa said with deep sadness in her voice. She felt like she was betraying her people. But she couldn't fight her own son! "He Who Must Not Be Named sent…"  
She chocked and looked to the door behind her. She wasn't the only one though. Her son and the old Professor looked towards the door, too. There was the knocking sound again.  
"Yes, please?" Professor Dumbledore called. The door opened and a tall man with flaming red hair entered the room. Fridwulfa eyed him curiously. She didn't know that man. He seemed to be nice, though. He stepped inside, looking a little uneasy. Fridwulfa winced. Was it because of her? She knew what most of the wizards thought about the giants. But this didn't seem to be fear in the eyes of the redhaired man. It wasn't hate either. Maybe he was just confused to find a giantess in Dumbledore's office.  
"Oh, Arthur, please come in!" Professor Dumbledore called, his voice as cheerful as ever. Only his eyes mirrored his concern. The redheaded man stepped closer. Fridwulfa took a closer look on him. The man had warm brown eyes and his face was covered in millions of frecles. The man looked very pleasant. But… who was he?  
"Professor Dumbledore, I…" The redheaded man seemed to be surprised by the Professor having company. He stopped dead. Dumbledore smiled.  
"Oh, you haven't met before, of course. This is Arthur Weasley, a pureblood wizard and a dear friend of mine, Arthur, this is Fridwulfa Hagrid."  
"Hagrid? Professor, Hagrid? Like Rubeus Hagrid?" Arthur glanced over to the giantess. Why was she here? The giants were supposed to fight with his Lord! Had they betrayed Him? Arthur couldn't quite believe that since the giants were known as very proud people. But why then? She wouldn't come the whole way to Scotland just to tell Dumbledore personally that they're rejecting his offer. So he just magiced up his best puzzled look.  
"Oh, yes," exclaimed Dumbledore merrily. "She's Rubeus' mother. She'll be staying at Hogwarts for some time. But that's not..." but he was cut off by Arthur Weasley, who now wore a delighted grin as if all his dreams had come true at once. Hagrid found himself thinking that Mr. Weasley couldn't look happier when he got hold of some of those - what had Harry called them - komputres?  
"The giant's joined us? Oh, that must be You-Know-Who's darkest day ever. I mean, the day he finds out! I mean... Oh, I'm just too exited to even think straight. And Minister Fudge is going to just drop dead when he hears about the giants working for us, the idiot! You told him, they would, but did he listen to you…?" Suddenly he stopped talking. Dumbledore's face had changed into looking very worried. So they are working for my Lord after all, Arthur thought. But why on Earth is she here then?  
Professor Dumbledore just shook his head.  
"They are not joining our side. As far as dear Fridwulfa here can tell, he sent one of his Death Eaters (who looked a lot like a certain Mr. Lucius Malfoy) to the giants to remind them that the late Lord Marasmus had made a deal with Lord Voldemort (*at that moment everyone in the room with the small exeption of Professor Albus Dumbledore winced and a very scared-to-death half-giant cried out "Don't say the name!" while jumping out of his chair*) and Lady Violet hadn't much choice other than re-uniting with Voldemort (*as before, only that this time it wasn't a cry, it was more of a roar*) just to not disgrace her family name." Here Dumbledore paused and looked over to Mr. Weasley. Arthur now wore a look of horror. "Anyway, one giantess has decided to fight this war against her kind as she did not wish to fight her own son. So that is why she is here now, just in case you wondered. And don't you tell me that you didn't 'cause I know you did. There's no way ou could not have wondered. I mean, I would have wondered if I were you…" Here he smiled that I'm-So-Happy-And-Nothing's-Gonna-Change-That-Smile of his he had been wearing since his own schooldays.  
"We're in big trouble, then," Arthur said quietly, almst whispering. "We need to make that old fool Fudge understand the situation. But he still won't listen to me. I just can't make him believe that You-Know-Who has returned. He had more than enough evidence for that. What is he waiting for? Is he going to wait until Harry's dead body is found before he does something?!" Fridwulfa looked at the man in surprise. The man was shaking. He was shaking with anger, well, he was, as far as she could say. She never had heard such a fierce speech. If only she would have known how he was really feeling that moment. He was shaking. Of course he was! It was getting harder to remaind calm as anyone, including himself, was talking bad about his Master. It was just so unfair.  
  
"My Lord!"  
The Dark Lord was sitting in the bloodred chair in front the fireplace, staring into the flames. He didn't even stand up to greet his servant. But the servant didn't mind that. It had always been like that. Ever since the first time he came here to make his report. Oh, he had been so nerveous then! He had just stood here, on this very spot, gazing into the room. He had stood in the darkest corner of this room, not really daring to move any closer to his Lord. Arthur couldn't help but smile. He had just stood there and stared around for minutes until his Lord had spoken to him and made him tell Him all the little secrets he knew about. And He had said he was pleased with him. The Dark Lord is pleased with me, he had thought! That had really been the happiest day of his life... His train of thought was disturbed by a cold voice.  
"What have you for me today?" Lord Voldemort asked, making Arthur take a little step back. He was just a little surprised.  
"Yes, my Lord?" he shook his head to clear it. After a few seconds he responded to the original question. "I have just come from Professor Dumbledore's office," he explained softly... well, as soft as a freezing cold voice can made to be.  
"From Dumbledore's office? Go on." the Dark Lord asked lazily. Nothing in his voice even nearly hinted of him being curious. Anyone who would have been just listening into their conversation would have been getting the image that the Dark Lord was as uninterested as possible. But Arthur knew him too well.  
"I must say I was... interesting, my Lord. He had company, if I may add. Someone I really wasn't expecting at all. I must tell I was pretty surprised, my Lord." He sneered. Lord Voldemort could tell that Arthur was sneering. He could tell that from his servant's voice. If any of the Death Eaters allowed him- or herself to talk to the Dark Lord like that, it would have been worth a Cruciatus Curse. But not if it was Arthur. He was the only person in the world the Dark Lord considered as a real friend. He was allowed to joke with him. To be honest, Lord Voldemort even enjoyed it. He enjoyed Arthur's sense of (black) humor. Besides- Arthur was next to him the cruelest man in the world.  
"Oh? And who, if I may ask, was it?" Lord Voldemort drawled.  
"A giantess, my Lord."  
"A giantess?!" This was just too much. The Dark Lord rose from his chair as if he'd been struck by lightning. Arthur had never seen him being that outraged. "The giants are joining him, then?! I will make them regret their betrayal!"  
"Oh no, my Lord." Arthur tried to calm him down. He knew about Harry's ability to 'see' into his Lord's conversations and he also knew that Harry could do that only when the Dark Lord was very murdereous. Just like now. "The giants are not joining Dumbledore. Not all, that is. Only this one giantess is fighting on his side. She's called Fridwulfa and she's old Rubeus Hagrid's long-lost mother. She says she just can't fight her own son, so she's staying at Hogwarts and fighting at the headmaster's side. So, please, try to not loose your temper, my Lord. Think about young Harry Potter and the fact that he could be listening into our conversation right now."  
The Dark Lord seemed to calm down a little, but he still was pretty much angry  
"Fridwulfa, you said? Hmm... She will pay for her disloyalty. She will pay for having betrayed me and the giants. But not yet. We have some more important matters to take care of first. I want Harry Potter's relatives eliminated!"  
  
Somewhere, many miles away, a young boy named Harry Potter woke up, crying out in pain and cluching both of his hands to the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Harry Potter had heard the conversation. And he wasn't very pleased about what he had heard at all.   
  
  
  
A/N: Sorry it was so short. I just hadn't much time for writing but I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as possible. Like always- thanks go to my wonderful betas Luinthoron and Puzzler. I wouldn't know what to do without them.  
I also wanted to remark that I do not get any profit from writing this fic, so don't sue me, OK? Just review. Please?!   



	6. Just A Nightmare?

  
Disclaimer: Well, I really don't see the point in disclaiming it. You don't honestly expect that I own the characters, do you? I mean, if I didn't own them last five chapters, how could I own them now? It makes no sense, does it? And if you really have to know (in case you didn't know before- in which case you should: 1) read the books first; or 2) look for another category to read in FFN; or 3) just read along and take notice of the fact that...) the characters and places belong to J.K.Rowling, a british writer. I just use them because I can't wait for the next book. I just admire her :)  
  
A/N: Thanks to my wonderful betas Luinthoron (*waves*) and Puzzler ("Hi!"). Without them my grammar would be just horrible, I would get flamed on my grammar the whole time and stop writing in English forever. That's why we all should thank both of them- without them there would be no story. So repeat after me: "Thank you, Luinthoron and Puzzler!"  
  
  
  
Chapter six: Just A Nightmare?  
  
Harry could feel himself fly. He had been flying before, of course, but this time it was different. He hadn't his broom with him. It actually reminded him of a dream he had had earlier this year. The time he had been sleeping in Professor Trelawny's divination class. When he had seen Lord Voldemort speaking to Wormtail. He decided to just let himself float. He closed his eyes for a moment.  
As he opened his eyes again, he found himself near a fireplace in a dark room. He was facing his archenemy, Lord Voldemort, in person. The Dark Lord didn't seem to notice him though. It must be one of these dreams, Harry decided. The Dark Lord was staring into the flames.  
"My Lord!" a voice came from the darkest corner of the room. A cold voice, almost as cruel as the Dark Lord's own voice. Harry looked up from his Enemy's face into the darkness behind him. He couldn't see who the man speaking was. He didn't know this icy cold voice. It sure as hell wasn't Wormtail. Lord Voldemort didn't do anything, he just continued staring into the fire. It seemed like forever before the Dark Lord spoke.  
"What have you for me today?" The man (Harry was more than sure it was a man) in the shadows stumbled back.  
"Yes, my Lord?" he said as if he hadn't understood the question. "I have just come from Professor Dumbledore's office," he continued a moment later. Harry was confused. The man came from Dumbledore? Could it be that it was Snape, taking up his job as a spy again? No, this couldn't be that. The man didn't sound like Snape. Harry would have known, wouldn't he? He had to stand Snape for how long now? Had it really been four years already? No, it definitley wasn't Snape.  
"From Dumbledore's office?" the Dark Lord drawled. "Go on."  
"I must say it was... interesting, my Lord," the man went on. "He had company, if I may add. Someone I really wasn't expecting at all. I must tell I was pretty surprised, my Lord."  
"Oh, and who, if I may ask, was it?" the Dark Lord asked with a drawl.  
"A giantess, my Lord."  
"A giantess?!" Harry winced. Lord Voldemort was angry now. So angry that he jumped out of his chair. Harry hadn't experienced him that angry before. It hurt. His scar hurt. "The giants are joining him, then?! I will make them regret their betrayal!" Betrayal? Harry didn't understand that? Well, he knew that the giants had been working for Voldemort last time, but it wasn't like they had made a deal this time, it wasn't, right?  
"Oh no, my Lord." Harry could almost feel the panic the man in the shadows radiated. "The giants are not joining Dumbledore. Not all, that is. Only this one giantess is fighting on his side. She's called Fridwulfa" At this point Harry winced. He had heard this name before. Were they talking about Hagrid's Mum? "and she's old Rubeus Hagrid's long-lost mother. She says she just can't fight her own son, so she's staying at Hogwarts and fighting at the Headmaster's side. So, please, try to not loose your temper, my Lord. Think about young Harry Potter and the fact that he could be listening into our conversation right now."  
The Dark Lord was still shaking with anger although not as much as before. How do they know about this, Harry wondered.  
"Fridwulfa, you said?" the Dark Lord asked. Harry could feel the tension buid up in the room. "Hmm... She will pay for her disloyalty. She will pay for having betrayed me and the giants. But not yet. We have some more important matters to take care first. I want Harry Potter's relatives eliminated!"  
  
Harry woke up with a start, crying out in pain while cluching both of his hands over his scar. He glanced around in his room around him, trying to make sure where he was. There were footsteps behind his door, he heard it open and a very angry uncle Vernon popped his head in.  
"What the hell were you thinking?" he growled at Harry. "Don't you know what time it is?! We're letting you live here with us, despite your... ABNORMALITY, and you don't even have the DECENCY to let us SLEEP at nights. You could have woke up your aunt, you know. She needs her sleep, she's working hard around the house every day. And Dudley needs his rest as well. He's a growing child and needs his regular sleep. I won't have you screaming around the house all night!"  
Harry just nodded, not daring to open his mouth, afraid he'd burst out laughing if he did. His aunt? working hard around the house? Not if she could make Harry work instead. And she could. Dudley being a growing child? Oh, yes, he was. He was growing every day. Forwards, backwards and to the sides. He was so fat he could hardly get through the door to his room, for God's sake!  
"Did you hear me, boy? One more sound from this room tonight and I'm having your stupid owl stuffed, you got it?"  
Harry just nodded. He was used to his uncle threatening to make something to Hedwig. But this time he seemed to be dead serious. As soon as uncle Vernon's head disappeard from the doorway Harry climbed out of his bed and stumbled to his desk. He opened the door to Hedwig's cage and let her out.  
"You heard what he said," he told her sadly. "It'd be too dangerous for you to hang out here for now. Would you mind staying by Ron for a while?" It seemed that Hedwig had no objections to that one. "Good," Harry continued. "I'll give you a letter for him, too. I'll explain it to him. Is it OK with you?" The bird just nibbled on Harry's finger affectionately. "I'll take that as an OK," Harry smiled. He sat down behind the desk, then turned himself to Hedwig once more. "Could you take a letter to Sirius before flying off to Ron's?" Harry could have sworn that the bird was nodding in agreement. "Good girl."  
Harry sat down behind his desk and looked for a sheet of parchment. After finding one he opened his ink vial, grabbed his quill and dipped it into the ink. Then he sat back in his chair, thinking. What was it exactly he was going to write? He tried to remember his dream. It had been so vivid. Damn uncle Vernon! He had made Harry so mad that he had almost forgotten his whole dream. It had been a dream, right? He brought his hand up to touch his scar. It didn't hurt. Maybe it had been just a nightmare? No! He had had such dreams before and they NEVER were just mere nightmares.  
He tried to concentrate on his dream. There had been two men. And they had been talking. Harry let his eyes wander through his room to the window, to the starry night. It was dark outside. He wondered how late it was, but he wasn't really eager to find out. It was late and that was enough for him. Damn, he thought, I wasn't supposed to wonder what time it is, I was supposed to try and remember what the men in the dream were talking about! He started concentrating again. There had been two men. One of them had been Lord Voldemort. The other... He didn't know the other man. He had been standing in the darkest corner of the poorly illuminated room and Harry was sure he hadn't heard this voice ever before. The iciness and cruelty of his voice could almost match Lord Voldemort's. Harry shuddered thinking about what these two could achieve working together. They had been talking. About what? Harry tried to concentrate harder. They had been talking about the giants. The giants had joined Lord Voldemort! Harry couldn't believe it. He tried to remember some more. Lord Voldemort had been furious... But why? Harry brought his hands up to his head once more, massaging his temples. One of the giants had joined Dumbledore's resistance force. They had been talking about punishing her. But how had they found out? Harry tried and tried to remember, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He let his hands fall down again. They had been talking about him, too. Lord Voldemort... he knew that Harry could hear him in his dreams! How could he know that?! Harry tried to remember. Of course! Dumbledore had told Minister Fudge! Everybody knew that Fudge discussed anything with Lucius Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. And now they knew... A moment later a realization hit Harry. Suddenly he could hear Lord Voldemort's last words befors ha had woken up in his head. He was after the Dursleys now!  
It wasn't as if Harry would have cared if anything happened to his aunt's family. It wasn't that. But he felt guilty. The Dursleys were just innocent bystanders, after all. If it weren't for him, they weren't in mortal danger now. He felt responsible. For a moment he thought he should go warn them. But then he decided against it. He wasn't allowed to speak about 'his world' in the Dursleys' house, so he didn't. Besides... he wanted to ask his godfather for advice first...  
Someone tapped Harry onto the shoulder. He was torn out of his thoughts and brought back to the reality. He turned around to see Hedwig hovering at his shoulder height and tapping it as if trying to wake him up.  
"Hey, stop it," he whispered, laughing. Hedwig glided to her cage and sat down on top of it. "I'm writing already, OK? No need to panic!" With those words Harry reached for his quill and started to write.  
  
  
Dear Snuffles and Professor Moony!  
  
How are you? And Beaky? I hope this letter finds you well. I'm doing quite well, concidering I'm living with the Dursleys. I mean, you know how they are. I miss you all horribly. Could you please talk to Dumbledore and ask when I can go visit Ron?  
I had one of these dreams tonight. He was speaking to another man I didn't recognize. It wasn't Wormtail though. It appears he is aware of my 'ability' to hear into his conversations from time to time. They also talked about the giants. They have joined Him, with one exception. Whoever she is, she needs protection. She is going to be punished for joining Professor Dumbledore. They also talked about me. They have a new target now. It's the Dursleys. Should I tell them?  
Please, answer soon. I don't know what to do, else.  
  
Your  
  
Harry Potter  
  
  
Harry put the letter into an envelope, scribbled "Snuffles & Moony" on it and tied it to Hedwig's leg. Then he reached for another sheet of parchment for his letter to Ron. He picked up his quill, dipped it into the ink and began to write  
  
  
Hi, Ron!  
  
I'm sorry for not having written to you sooner, but you know my aunt's family. They don't like me using the owl post. They don't like me sending/recieving letters anyway, but that's not the point.  
How are you? And your family? Fred and George haven't blown up the whole Burrow yet, I hope. I can imagine your Mum wouldn't be too pleased with that. And Percy? Still getting on everybody's nerves with his cauldrons? Believe me, you have my sympathy for having to live with him for the whole summer.  
OK, I figure you wanna know why I'm risking my relatives getting angry with me by writing you. Well, I had a nightmare tonight. I happened to scream in my dream and unfortunately I woke up my uncle. He told me if he hears another sound from my room he's going to get Hedwig stuffed. That's why I'm asking for sanctuary for her. I want her as far away as possible from my uncle. Could you please take care of her for a while for me, please? It's an emergency.  
  
Harry.  
  
  
He put his quill down, folded the letter and stuffed it into another envelope, scribbled "Ron" on it and tied the letter to Hedwig's another leg. That done, he petted Hedwig for a while, then took her to the window and let her out. She flew out of the window and into the night.  
  
  
  
A/N: First of all I'd like to thank all my reviewers. It's you I write for. And for me. But that's not the point. I really love your reviews, so please don't let me without one, OK? I live on your reviews. They make me write as much as my betas Luinthoron and Puzzler. And I thank you all for that. So go on. Review. And I'll write. I promise.  
Review? Please? Pretty pretty please? *makes puppy eyes* Please? I just love getting reviews. Even flames. Please? 


	7. The Dursleys' Bodyguards

  
Disclaimer: All the places and characters encountered in this chapter are the property of our goddess J.K.Rowling. I just borrow them to write this story here. As I'm not making any profit with writing this (I'm only spending all of my spare time at it), please don't sue me. It wouldn't make you any good, I'm just a poor student with too much fantasy  
  
A/N: This is, as always, beta-read by my wonderful betas Luinthoron (*waves*) and Puzzler ("Hi!"). Without them... I don't know how I could ever write this. That's why I'd like to thank them. Thank you! *bows at her betas*  
I'd also like to thank all of you who ever reviewed this story. I just love your reviews. That's what keeps me writing. Thank you! *hugs everyone who has reviewed her story. ever* Please review this chapter, too, after you've been reading this, OK? Thanks again  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter seven: The Dursleys' Bodyguards  
  
Two days after Harry's nightmare the Dursleys had unexpected visitors. Harry was locked up in his room again for screaming in his sleep, which was why he wasn't downstairs as the doorbell rang. He was surprised when someone came and unlocked the door to his bedroom, he wasn't expecting any guests and the Dursleys never let him meet any of their friends. But he was even more surprised as he saw who came in. Even in his wildest dreams he hadn't dreamed of this! He quickly climbed out of his bed and ran to the man in the doorway.  
"Professor Lupin!" he exclaimed, running over to his father's friend and greeting him with a hug. "What are you doing here? How is Si... I mean Snuffles? Where is he?"  
"Hello to you, too, Harry," Professor Lupin laughed. "It's good to see you again. To be honest, we came because of this dream of yours..."  
"WE?! What do you mean by we? Do you mean that Snuffles is here, too? Where is he? I want to see him!" Harry exclaimed.  
"My dear boy, would you please calm down now? We should go downstairs, you know? I'm afraid we need to talk to your family. Snuffles is waiting with downstairs, keeping an eye on your family, you know..." Remus grinned. "But I think he will be glad to see you again."  
They made their way down the stairs and into the Dursleys' living room. Harry couldn't believe his eyes as they entered the room, the picture that he saw was more than he could take. It had NEVER been harder to hold back his laughter... The Dursleys were all sitting on the sofa, staring at the enourmous black dog which was examining them from the chair across the room. The dog looked to the door as they entered the room, jumped down from his chair and ran over to Harry.  
"I told them he's my familiar and I could communicate with him so that he could tell me whether they had behaved themselves while I was up there getting you or not," Remus whispered to Harry who had trouble holding back snorts of laughter.  
"Snuffles!" Harry exclaimed, kneeling down and hugging the dog. "I missed you so much!"  
The Dursleys, seeing that they were forgotten for a moment, tried to make their exit, but Sirius turned to face them the instant they got out of their seat. Frightened to death, they sat down and didn't even try to make a move afterwards. Remus lead Harry to the chair, asked him to sit down and stood back on the right side of the chair while Sirius, still in his animagus form, sat down on Harry's left. Harry grinned. He had NEVER seen his aunt's family so afraid. He wondered if they knew that Remus was a wizard. He figured they knew because they hadn't said a word since they had entered the room. And Remus had said he told them Sirius was his familiar. Well, that would have proved that they knew. Harry looked at Remus. Now he wondered if the Dursleys knew that he was one of Harry's parents' best friends AND a werewolf. And, his eyes wandered to Sirius, he really wondered what the Dursleys would do if they found out that the black dog here was Black, the wanted murderer AND Harry's godfather. Well, one way to find out. Harry looked up to Remus.  
"Professor Lupin?"  
The Dursleys looked at the man on Harry's right side, their eyes wide with horror. Uncle Vernon was the first to react.  
"Professor?! Are you telling me that this... this FREAK is one of your TEACHERS in that SCHOOL of yours?"  
Harry just smiled at him sweetly. "Well, yes, he was. In my third year. But he quit when our potions master accidentally spilled to the students that he was a werewolf... He was also one of my parents' best friends."  
The Dursleys, horrified, just stared at the werewolf, Dudley in plainly visible panic. "A... a... werewolf?" he stuttered. Harry was amused to see that the fabric was turning darker where Dudley sat. He had wet his pants. Harry was fighting laughter. Professor Lupin, however, just nodded.  
Harry looked at him. "Professor? You must have had a reason for bringing me down here. I just can't believe it's just because you wanted to visit Mum's family..."  
Remus looked down at him. "I already told you. It's because of Lord Voldemort and that dream of yours. You know," he went on, turning to face the Dursleys, "that your nephew here has the extraordinary ability to see Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard for about a century, when he is feeling very angry and murderous. It has to do with the failed spell he cast to kill Harry when the boy was a year old. Harry has informed us that Lord Voldemort's new target is your family. Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts' headmaster, is convinced that you need protection. That is why we're here. To protect you."  
"What do you mean by we?!" Vernon Dursley roared. "Are you telling me that there are more of your kind here and we don't see them?!"  
Harry grinned. "Oh, does that mean that you haven't been introduced yet? Oh, I'm sorry. How could I be that impolite? May I present to you my godfather, Sirius Black, wizard, animagus, convinced murderer and one of my parents' best friends..."  
Harry watched the Dursleys' faces as Sirius turned himself back to his human form. Uncle Vernon looked ready to kill, but frightened to death all the same. "BLACK!!!" he exclaimed before fainting dead. Harry burst out laughing hysterically. He didn't care anymore what his aunt would say. This was just worth it.  
  
Lord Voldemort was furious. His spy had just informed him that the Dursleys had become personal protection from Dumbledore. He still wasn't going to give up his plan to kill Harry's family. He was stubborn, Arthur knew it. Sometimes it was really hard to make him see that what he wanted to do was impossible to accomplish. Well, this here was difficult, but still not impossible. Dumbledore had sent Remus Lupin to their protection. And Sirius Black. If they would attack on a full moon, there would be only one wizard to protect the targets. Sirius was a powerful wizard, there was co doubt in that, but he couldn't take a whole army of Death Eaters alone.  
"My Lord," he said. "We should wait a little more."  
"Oh, yes." The Dark Lord seemed to be in thoughts. "I remember. The full moon, if I'm not mistaken. They sent him the werewolf. These idiots!" Lord Voldemort's voice was full of loathing. Arthur laughed. They were so going to die. And if nothing went wrong, Harry Potter was going to die, too. His Master would finally get his revenge!  
"But my Lord," Arthur reminded himself and his Lord, "They have Black, too. It's not like they're going to be totally helpless, even if the werewolf is out of the game. You said it yourself, Black is one of the most talented wizards of his year. He could make us trouble..."  
Lord Voldemort seemed to be lost in thoughts. He sure remembered Sirius Black. There had been a time when he had hoped to see the man join his Death Eaters. He, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew had been known for breaking the rules all over the place in their time at Hogwarts. They also had been more talented wizards than anyone else in their year. He had hoped that they would join him, as he certainly offered more ways and possibilities for breaking the rules as anybody else. But no. They had remained on Dumbledore's side, all except Pettigrew, who had turned out to be just a brainless sidekick of the famous Marauders. Lord Voldemort had thought it very amusing to hear that Sirius Black had spent twelve years in Azkaban for having been 'his right hand man' and for betraying the Potters to him. No-one, not even Dumbledore had known of the Potters' last minute change of mind in the case of their secret-keeper. No-one knew that Peter Pettigrew had been made the Potters' secret-keeper, that Wormtail had been the one to blow up that Muggle-street, that he never died in first place but instead hid at the Weasleys' house as a pet rat and that Sirius Black had been thrown into Azkaban unjustly. Well, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and that Mudblood girlfriend of theirs... what's-her-name... whatever, she'll be dead soon enough... they knew now. But it wasn't as if it would have been any help for Black. He was still on the run from the Ministry. Lord Voldemort laughed. It was a cruel laugh. The Minister was such an arrogant idiot. But it made it all so much easier for the Dark Lord. The Minister's ignorance had been so helpful he almost considered sending him a thank-you-card.  
"Black will cause us no trouble," Lord Voldemort assured his servant. "He cannot fight a whole army of Death Eaters alone. And I think, as a bonus we should send Wormtail with the group we send there. He would surely like to see his old friend from school again..." Lord Voldemort grinned evilly. He surely knew the relationship between the ex-marauders. It would be a priceless sight.  
  
"You what?"  
Harry Potter looked at his godfather and Remus with disbelief in his eyes. Both Marauders just grinned.  
"As we said," Remus laughed. "We let Dumbledore tell the Ministry that he's sending you two grown up wizards for protection and that they are most likely going to use magic. This means you are going to be able to use some magic here. We're just going to say it was us..."  
"But my aunt? And Uncle Vernon? They will turn me in!"  
Sirius shook his head, still grinning.  
"Oh, no, they will not. They don't even know how to contact the Ministry, neither would they do anything to offend a man who has murdered thirteen people with a single curse."  
"Just make sure you stay out of trouble, OK?" Remus smiled.  
"I promise," Harry Potter said. This was going to be fun.  
  
  
  
A/N: So what do you think? Review and tell me. I haven't got any reviews recently, so would you please review? Pretty please? 


	8. Preparations

  
Disclaimer: As always, I do NOT own the characters, the places or anything else you could recognize from the books. They all are the property of our dear goddess J.K.Rowling. Neither do I write this story for personal profit. I only write this to make the waiting for book 5 a little bit more interesting for the people reading this. BTW, I DO own the plot of this story.  
  
A/N: Well, what can I say, Thank you so much for reading this. And for reviewing. All of you. Every time I recieve a review, it just makes my day. Because it means that there are people reading this. And that means, that I'm not writing the story just for me. I just love reviews. *stands up and hugs anyone who has EVER reviewed her story* Special thanks go to my wonderful beta Luinthoron (*waves*) for correcting the little typing errors that had slipped in (the ones he found). I haven't heard from my second beta, Puzzler, tough. I sent her the chapter almost a month ago, but I decided I won't wait for her reply anymore. So I just apologizs for the possible errors in writing and grammar. You see, neither Luinthoron nor I speak English as our native language. Puzzler is the one who does.  
  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter eight: Preparations  
  
"You wanted to see me, my Lord?" Arthur Weasley had apparated to the Riddle house.  
"Oh, yes, Arthur, my friend, I've been waiting for you. I take it you recieved my Message?"  
Arthur Weasley nodded. He wouldn't have come this early as if not for the Message. He had been at the Ministry, working, when he had gotten the Message. It wasn't as if Lord Voldemort could have summoned him for he didn't have the dark mark. But the Dark Lord had an another way for contacting him. And this was the Message. Arthur would recieve an owl. A letter. No-one would suspect anything, as he recieved many letters each day. The letter himself wasn't important. Sometimes it would be just an empty sheet of parchment, sometimes it would be an owl Lord Voldemort's people had catched and read already, sometimes it would look like a letter from home. No, the letter wasn't important. The owl was. An owl with a black ribbon around it's neck. It ment that that Arthur had to apparate to the Headquarters as soon as he could.  
"Yes, my Lord. But you shouldn't have risked. I would have come later anyway."  
The Dark Lord looked up from his goblet and stared into the fireplace once again. He looked thoughtful.  
"Maybe I shouldn't have. I know that your cover means too much to our side to risk it, but it seemes that you have forgotten something."  
Arthur looked puzzled. What could he possibly have forgotten? He looked at his Lord, but he didn't say anything. He just kept thinking, trying to figure out what it was Lord Voldemort was talking about. But the Dark Lord didn't give him much time to think.  
"The full moon," he said. "It's today. We need to prepare for the attack. I need all the informations about the boy's family and their 'guardians' you can get. I need you to go to Dumbledore and try to get as much as possible out from him."  
The full moon! How could Arthur have forgotten about that?! He had looked forward to the attack for so long, how could he have not thought about what date it was going to happen?!  
"Yes, my Lord!"  
  
In the Dursley's house, there were other problems to be dealed with. And the main problem seemed to be, what to do with the wolf in Remus while he was transformed. They couldn't possibly just let a werewolf loose in the house, not to speak on the neighbourhood. But what to do with him then? Well, that was the problem Harry, Sirius and Remus had to solve, since the Dursleys tried to come up with a solution for a problem of almost same importance - how to get all the wizards here out of their house?  
The first trio of them was interrupted by someone no-one had been expecting. Harry's eyed grew wide as he saw the dark haired man standing in the doorway, eyeing them.  
"Professor Snape!" he exclaimed in pure horror.  
Sirius and Remus turned to face their sworn enemy from their schooldays. He seemed so out of place, staying in the doorway in the Dursleys' neatly kept Muggle house, carrying a bottle of what seemed to be some sort of a potion, Harry couldn't help but grin. Both 'bodyguards' seemed to have lost their tongues. Snape just stared at the three of them.  
"Well, I must say, I have always thought that you had no manners at all, Potter, but do you let all of your guests just stand at the doorway without calling them in, or is it just because it's me?" Professor Snape sneered.  
This brought the trio back to their senses. Harry blinked and looked at his teacher. He really wondered what this man was doing here, but he thought better than to ask.  
"You can come in, I guess," Harry said in the same time when Sirius stood up quickly and yelled "Don't you dare to speak to my godson like that, you slimy git! Who did invite you anyway?" Remus seemed to remain relatively calm.  
The Professor entered the room.  
"Well, Black, I can answer your question easily. It isn't as if I had a choice, you know. If it would have been for me, you'd have a really interesting night tonight, you know, babysitting a werewolf..." Sirius lunged forward as if to strangle Snape, but he was brought back to his seat by four arms, belonging to Remus and Harry. "I see, at least the werewolf knows what's good for him," Snape continued, but not before he had made a few steps backwards, out from Sirius' reach. "You see, Dumbledore was a little concerned about what could happen if the werewolf wouldn't behave himself, so he asked me to bring him some fresh Wolfsbane Potion. But, of course, if you're not interested..." he turned to the door as if to leave. Harry, Sirius and Remus stood up with a start. Snape turned to face them again. "Well, I thought so," he said.  
  
"But Professor Dumbledore, he's a werewolf!"  
Arthur Weasley was sitting in the Headmaster's office and trying to convince him to call Lupin off duty for the full moon. To his disappointment, he hadn't had much luck.  
"I know, what he is," the Headmaster said, smiling. "I knew even before he started at Hogwarts as a pupil."  
"But, it's not safe!" Arthur exclaimed. "You have to think about Harry! You hav to think about his family! You can't risk the lives you were to protect by leaving them with a werewolf on the night of full moon!"  
"Arthur, please. You know as well as I do, that I would never put Harry in danger! He has his godfather there to look after him. And it's not like Remus would attack someone. I already sent Severus to bring Remus some Wolfsbane Potion. He'd be totally harmless!"  
"You trust Severus Snape with a potion for Remus? When Remus is guarding Harry? AND you send Snape to the house of these Muggles? Gods, Albus, Snape hates Remus even more than he does hate Harry! What if Snape 'accidentally' switches some of the ingredients of the potion and ends up poisoning Remus?!"  
Professor Dumbledore looked at Mr. Weasley with surprise in his eyes.  
"Arthur," he said with a fading smile, "I know, you are worried abot Harry's safety. Only a few people care for him like your family does. But he would never do anything to put Harry in danger. He is as worried about Harry as we are. Give him a chance, Arthur. If I can trust Severus, don't you think, you should try to, too?"  
Arthur just stared at the Headmaster blankly.  
"How can you trust him, Albus? Now, that the You-Know-Who is back? According to what Ron told us, back when he was only in his first year, Snape had tried to kill Harry twice! Both times during Quidditch games! He used to be a Death Eather, Albus! What if he wants You-Know-Who to take him back as his servant? Letting Harry Potter getting killed by a werewolf would be a perfect occation, don't you think?"  
"Arthur, please. Severus would never put a pupil in danger. That's out of question. And, I am perfectly aware of what happened in those Quiddich games. Young Ron, as it seemes, has forgotten to set things right at home. It wasn't Severus who tried to kill Harry, you see? You may remember, that our Defense Professor Quirrell passed away that year? It is not like me to speak ill from the dead, but it was him who tried to kill Harry. It was, if I may add, on Voldemort's orders."  
Arthur shuddered as the name of the Dark Lord was spoken. He wasn't afraid of his Lord. It was, to be exact, quite the opposite. But he had to pretend, he was, in means of conspiracy.  
"Please, Albus, could you PLEASE not say that name?" he pleaded.  
Dumbledore looked sternly at the man sitting oposite him. He had hoped that at least Arthur would be brave enough to say the feared name. Arthur, who had always fought against other wizards, trying to protect the Muggles, getting no appropriate credit for his doing after all. Arthur, who had been a Gryffindor for his outstanding pride and bravery. Where was all of his prised Gryffindor bravery? On the other side, he couldn't blame him for not wanting to hear the name. There was too much darkness going with the name.  
"If you are afraid even from a name, how will you ever fight Voldemort if you happen to stand in front of him?"  
'Well, that's simple,' Arthur thought sarcastically. 'I stand in front of him at least once a day and I have, to be honest, no intention to ever attack him and stab him in the back,' but what he said, was "Well, I pray every night to make sure I'll never have to find out."  
  
Lord Voldemort sat in his blood red chair when Arthur arrived. He looked at his Lord, wondering if the other man ever leaved his seat. Ever since he had come here since Lord Voldemort's rebirth, he had found his Lord sitting in the same position, holding the same glass filled with the same intoxicating liquid (also known as brandy), staring at the flames in the same fireplace. Arthur watched him, trying to figure out what was it that gave his Lord the power He had. Well, he knew what it was in his case, but he couldn't quite picture every single Death Eater to share the same kind of bond that he had wit Him, the bond that had made him join the Dark Side and had made him the man he was today. Because Arthur, as a former Gryffindor, hadn't even known he had a dark side, before he met Lord Voldemort. He had alwas been a great supporter Dumbledore's and he, too, had been on the hunting list of the Death Eaters. That all had changed when...  
"I see you're here"  
Lord Voldemort's voice pulled Arthur back to reality. He was, once again, standing in the darkest corner of the dim lighted room, his Lord talking to him.  
"Yes, my Lord, and I have news about the guards of the Potter boy."  
"Very well," the Dark Lord said, tasting his drink. After a long moment, he added: "You may continue."  
Arthur looked at his Master. How was he going to take the news about the werewolf staying at the Dursleys', he wondered. But then again, his Lord might find it just made things a little more interesting...  
"It's the werewolf," he sighed. "He's been given the Wolfsbane Potion..."  
He couldn't finish his sentence. Lord Voldemort cut him off.  
"I see. A lovely pet werewolf for lonely nights," he sneered. "Well, we are going to make sure, this night isn't going to be lonely. That's why we're going to go and visit them. I'm sure, they'll be overjoyed to have some company..."  
  
"Well, the best place would still be the cupboard under the stairs," Remus stated. He had made up his mind days ago, but Harry, remembering his own years down there, was not happy with the thought.  
"I already told you why I think that it's not a good idea," he said.  
"I know, you had to live there most of your life, but it would be safe. You could lock me up in there. And I already inspected the room. I know, I wouldn't have much space, but your old bed is still there, so it would be at least comfortable..."  
"I still don't like the thought of you being locked up down there. There has to be another way! There just has to be!"  
Sirius, who hadn't said a word for about half an hour, looked worried at his godson. He could understand Harry's feelings. If Remus would have insisted to be locked up in his old cell in Azkaban, he would have reacted the same way. But he also understood Remus' motives. And the cupboard under the stairs seemed to be the only solution for their problem.  
"Harry, please," he said. "If Moony says it's OK, then it's OK. Don't you see, that he only wants to make sure you're safe? He'll be fine, I promise."  
Harry looked at his godfather, eyes full of wonder. How could he say something like this? Surely he knew that there was nothing worse than being locked up down there! But they were two against one. It was decided.  
  
"You wanted to see me, my Lord?"  
A man had appeared in the doorway. The Dark Lord didn't even have to turn around and look at him to be sure who it was.  
"Oh, yes, Wormtail, my cowardly servant. You'll be able to prove your loyalty for me tonight."  
"To-tonight?" Peter Pettigrew stuttered.  
"There will be an attack on Muggles. I want you to go, too," Lord Voldemort said.  
"M-me?"  
"Yes, you. You haven't participated in any attacks since I came back. It is time, that this will be corrected. You will go tonight. You know, what will happen, if you don't?"  
"M-Ma-Master?  
Lord Voldemort's eyes seemed to burn with anger. He stood up, turned and rised his wand.  
"Crucio!"  
The Dark Lord watched Wormtail jerk in agony. The screams of the now useless former spy being music to his ears. Then he took the curse fom him.  
"That was nothing compared to what will await you if you should disobey my orders!"  
"Y-yes, m-my Lord..."  
  
They were sitting in the living room. All the three Dursleys, Sirius and Harry. The Dursleys, having still not coming up with a way to get rid of the wizards, had decided to play along 'til they'd find something. So they tried not to offend them and just sat there, watching TV.  
They had been sitting there for a few fours now. There was tension in the air. No-one had said a word for hours. Even the wizards didn't have a conversation for they were both too concerned about Remus in the cupboard. The moon had come out sooner than expected. It was only thanks to the Wolfsbane Potion, that he hadn't attacked anyone. Sirius had transformed and led him to the cupboard, making sure no-one was bitten. The Dursleys had been shocked for life, for the moment living in the fear that the wizards could let the werewolf loose on them if they'd do anything.  
The 'cozy family evening' was interrupted by someone knocking on the front door.  
Someone wanted to be let in.  
  
  
  
A/N: Cliffhanger! I've always wanted to write a cliffhanger! Don't be too hard on me with that one, please? Just because you may not like cliffhangers doesn't mean that I don't. I love them! Even if it isn't a real one (as Luinthoron says...)  
Please, review! 


	9. The Attack On The Dursleys

  
Disclaimer: All belongs to J.K.Rowling. I just took the characters to have some fun, but I give them back after I'm finished with them. *grins* I promise!  
  
A/N: Well, yeah *sighs*, I don't know. This chapter, I think you already guessed it, will deal with the Death Eaters' well planned attack on Harry's family. If you think, you cannot handle a little bit of fight, angst (and maybe death), skip it. This chapter is going to be much darker than what you are used to be getting from me. And you still have the chance to turn and run. *waits* Well, from this moment on I'm going to presume that you are warned and that if you're still hanging around, you'll be comfortable enough with what might happen.  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter nine: The Attack On The Dursleys  
  
  
Someone was knocking on the Dursleys' front door. And he seemed to be eager to be let in.   
Sirius stood up. The Dursleys had, to ensure their own security, agreed to Sirius making sure who's behind the door before one of them opened it. Vernon Dursley, maybe not as big as Dudley, but still fat enough, was having some trouble getting up himself. Muttering something into his big moustache, he made it through the room. Sirius was close behind him. As Mr Dursley approached the front door, Sirius cast a spell to see through the door. Mr Dursley had his hand on the doorknob. Sirius' spell worked. But what he saw made him wish to turn aroun and run. There were figures in cloaks, wearing masks. And there were too many of them to take them alone.  
"Don't!" he shouted.  
Mr Dursley looked around. The wizard, the bloody murdering wizard he had been hosting last weeks, looked scared to death. Vernon would have been delighted, hadn't he known what that ment.  
The knocking grew louder.  
Vernon winced. The only thing that could have caused this look on the bloody wizard's face were the wizards he was supposed to protect them from. And something in the look on Sirius' face told Vernon that this was serious.  
"Get away from the door!" Sirius almost whispered, but Vernon heard it the same. There was a new tension in the air. It was the kind of tension you feel before a bunch of Death Eaters break down the door to your house and kill you and your family.  
Vernon did what he was told. Both men just stared at the door. They were interrupted by a high voice coming from behind them.  
"Who was it, Vernon?"  
Both men jumped at Petunia's voice. Even Mr. Dursley was too scared and pissed off to deal wit his wife right now. Sirius just grabbed her and dragged her back into the living room.  
"Death Eaters!" was the first thing he said when as he entered the room. Even the faces of the Dursleys mirrored deep horror. This was the moment when they heard it. The front door exploded. This was seemingly too much for poor Petunia, she fainted. But you couldn't say that Harry wasn't glad about it. It made her shut up for a while, after all. Sirius caught her. But it would have been better if he hadn't.  
"Let her go!" Vernon snarled. "Get your filthy wizard hands off my wife right now!"  
Harry was deeply surprised at his uncle's behavior. Even if confronted with certain death through the hands (or maybe it would be more accurate to say through the wands) of Death Eaters, he couldn't be a little bit more polite with the wizard who was here to defend them. Maybe Harry had been wrong. Maybe the Dursleys really deserved to die. The best friends of Harry's parents were risking their lives for them and the Dursleys couldn't even act as they were fellow human beings?  
Harry's line of thought was interrupted by Sirius' hand landing on his shoulder. He looked up into the horror-filled eyes of his godfather and then in the direction Sirius' eyes were locked to. There were at least ten of them. Men in black cloaks, wearing masks. The Death Eaters.  
"Hello, Sirius," a rather short man in front of them snarled. Harry jumped at his voice. He looked at the man with new interest and his eyes fell on the man's right hand. It was silver. And it held a wand, pointed at Harry's godfather.  
The Dursleys seemed alarmed at that. And there was no reason for them not to be. This man who was supposed to protect them was greeted by one of the intruders? And then there was the fact that he was a convicted murderer. They could as well hav been together in this.  
"You know this man?" Vernon grunted, turning his face to the silver-handed man. Sirius nodded.  
"We were in school together," he said calmly. Then, turning to face the masked man again, he added: "Hello, Peter."  
By now all the Death Eaters had lined up with their wands drawn. Sirius and Harry had their wands out, too. The Dursleys, eyes filled with panic and fright, had backed up in a corner, Vernon trying to cover his wife and son from the Death Eaters with his body protectively. Neeldess to say it was useless. He could outshadow his wife, but his son... Dudley was just too big. Any other time Harry would have laughed at his uncle's attempts, but now, facing ten fully grown and educated dark wizards, he wasn't so sure about it.  
"Harry, look out!"  
Sirius had just pushed him out of the line of a curse. He was fighting the Death Eaters with all his might, but there were just too many of them. All Harry and Sirius could do was block the curses that were fired by the Death Eaters and even that was beginning to be too tough for the two of them. They could also hear the scratching and howling sounds that came from outside of the room. Appearently Remus had heard the fight and was now trying to get out of the cupboard.  
Another curse hurled past Harry's ear, missing him only by an inch. This one hit Vernon and he cried out in utmost pain. Harry paled. The situation was getting out of their hands. He had never thought that they could lose a battle against the Death Eaters. He had never thought that he would have to witness Muggle-torturing from this close again. Where were the Ministry wizards when you needed them? Where were the Aurors?!  
Another hex came flying in his direction and he blocked it with a shielding charm Sirius and Remus had taught him in these last few days. Vernon's face began showing up red boils. Petunia screamed, but Harry hadn't time to look back to make sure what she had. He had three different hexes heading in his direction and it took him all his skills to ward them off. And he was getting tired. He was, after all, only fifteen years old and this fight drained his powers more than he had ever thought possible. But then again- he hadn't fought that many opponents at once before. And his opponents this time weren't just boys who overestimated their skills, those were fully trained Death Eaters. He found himself wishing Hermione and Ron were with him. All the fights had seemed so much easier with them by his side.  
Another block. And another. They heard a door crush and the Death Eaters scream in horror. 'Oh, God,' Harryfound himself thinking, 'please, let it not be an outraged werewolf!'. But it seemed that God didn't hear his pleading. Remus, now transformed into a werewolf, came runnunig into the room and attacked the nearest Death Eater. Harry had never seen a human being torn apart before. He felt like he was going to faint. And Remus didn't stop there. After his first victim was dead, he turned and his eyes fell on the man with the silvery hand. He jumped at him and bit. Harry used this moment to look around and what he saw didn't make him feel any better. A sobbing Dudley next to the dead bodys of his parents... Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for him. But the fight wasn't over yet.  
To Harry's surprise were the Death Eaters retreating. Maybe they were too afraid of Remus, he thought, but Sirius seemed to be convinced otherwise. Without even saying a word, he grabbed Harry and Dudley by their shoulders and dragged them in the direction of the back door. And he seemed to be in hurry.  
"Move it!" he hissed as Dudley stumbled and fell. He pulled the crying boy back to the feet and shoved him through the kitchen to the door. Harry felt sorry for the fat boy and he also felt bad about his godfather pushing him around like this after Dudley's fresh loss.  
"Can't you be a little more compassionate? He just lost his parents!" he hissed at Sirius. But Sirius didn't seem to think about that right now.  
"He might loose much more than that if we don't get out of here quickly!" he said in a hushed voice.  
It was a wonder they came alive out of this. They had just stepped outside when the house behind them exploded. It was then when Harry remembered that Remus and Wormtail had been in the house. He looked at his godfather who had tears in his eyes. And at Dudley who had just lost everything he had. And then he saw IT. The Dark Mark howering over the ruins of the house, declairing the Death Eaters' victory. Harry sunk to his knees.  
"NO!!!"  
  
  
  
A/N: Hi, it's me again. Altair. Sorry for letting Remus get killed (or was he?). It just was getting so out of my hands. The Death Eaters insisted killing off them all, Harry was pleading with me to make sure that no-one was getting hurt. And then, when I was writing this, they just took over. I hadn't planned all these deaths, only three of them. And now...  
And just in case you're wondering- yes, the first Death Eater killed by the werewolf in Remus HAD a name, I know who it was and you are going to find out later, too. Oh, and it wasn't (of course) Arthur Weasley :)  
And now it's your turn to say something. Review! 


	10. General Confusion

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the persons and places connected to him were first discovered by a certain Lady known as J.K.Rowling. I just borrow them for a little while to mess with their lives around, but I always give them back after the chapter ends (well until I need them again for the next chapter, that is). And most of the time I give them back in really good condition, too *grin*   
A/N: Thanks to anyone who reviewd. You are the ones that keep me working on this one. Oh, and here comes a little request. I seem to have run out of betas. Luinthoron is working in another town now and I haven't heard from Puzzler for months, so here my request: could please someone (preferably someone who's native language is english) beta this story from now on? I'm really desperate now...   
Anyway. This chapter goes to Luinthoron. Hope you haven't it too tough, brother dear :)   
  
--Altair   
  
  
  
Chapter Ten: General Confusion   
  
Harry looked at the ruins that had just a few moments before been his annoying aunt's family's house and had now buried his aunt and uncle's bodys under it. He remembered Remus and Wormtail. They had remained fighting in the living room when Sirius had dragged the boys out. Were they dead also? He lifted his eyes and they fell on the Dark Mark hovering over the place he had once lived in. The Mark declaring the Death Eaters' victory. He sunk to his knees.   
"NO!"   
  
"My Lord..."   
The Dark Lord was standing in a big brightly iluminated room, before him were kneeling over a hundred Death Eaters, all of them masked, but somehow he always knew who was there. He looked at the man who had spoken earlier.   
"You may report"   
"My Lord, the boy..."   
"Potter? What about him?"   
The Death Eater, even though he was wearing a mask, was visibly scared when he spoke his next words.   
"Not Potter. I... I mean the... the Dursley boy... He... he... could escape..."   
"WHAT?!"   
The Death Eaters jumped at the sound of their Master's cry of rage. They had never experienced him that angry before. He didn't even say anything. He just Disapparated, leaving a very confused and VERY frightened crowd of Death Eaters behind.   
  
"But I don't wanna go there," whined Dudley. "I don't like that old bat! She always goes on and on about those dead cats and it smells there!"   
For once in his life, Harry had to agree with Dudley. He hated it at old mrs. Figg's. The house always smelling like cats, the old woman telling about her favorite pets even though most of them were long dead. And she even had photos of her cats! Harry didn't know anyone who had albums full photos of cats. He made a face. He had been forced to look them over and over again for years, he was not going to look at them again! He just wasn't! No... He was now being selfish... The old Lady hadn't anyone besides her cats. And he really shouldn't have been that selfish. If Sirius said it would be safe there, then it was going to be safe there!   
Sirius... How did he know her anyway? Harry had never heard the old woman speak about him. He had never heard her mention any friends of human blood. It had always been cats. Harry shook his head, trying to dismiss the thoughts. The last thing he wanted to do right now was think. He had lived through too much already today... the deaths of his relatives he had been forced to watch so closely, then Remus'...   
They had stopped, he noticed after bumping into Dudley's back. What surprised him even more was the fact that Dudley didn't snap at him. He must have been still in shock, Harry decided. To be honest, he started to worry about Dudley for not bullying him around all the time. It just wasn't normal!   
Sirius knocked at the door. Dudley had been quiet for some time and Harry found himself wishing he would at least take up complaining about all the cats again. It would have made him feel much much better.   
The door opened and an old Lady looked out. He was startled to see the three of them. Or was it the fact that they were together? Harry couldn't say...   
"Sirius?!" The woman exclaimed, almost not believing her eyes. "Sirius, what are you doing here? You were supposed to be at..." her woice trailed away.   
"Arabella, can we please come in? I have to contact Dumbledore."   
There was something in Sirius' voice that made her let them pass without furhther questions. She was closing the door behind them as she had a chance to take a glimpse from what was going on outside. And that's when she saw it. The Dark Mark high in the sky. She stumbled back in the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She turned to face them.   
Harry, in the meantime had some thinking to do for himself. Arabella. Where had he heard that name before? Arabella Figg? He knew it was important, but he had a gift to forget all the important names or at least where he had heard or read them before. The same had happened to him in his first year at Hogwarts with Nicholas Flamel. Now, he thought, concentrate. Try to remember. You have heard the name before. Sirius told her he wanted to contact Dumbledore. That would mean she was a witch, Sirius hadn't told her if she wasn't. So, if she was a witch and Sirius wanted to contact Dumbledore from her place, it would mean, she was on their side. She was part of the Resistance. And then it came all back t him. The conversation he had heard at Hogwarts after Voldemort's return. When Dumbledore said Sirius to contact the 'old crowd'. He had mentioned her name.   
"You're Arabella Figg?" he asked aloud before he could stop himself. And in perfect timing, too. Just in the same moment, when Arabella looked at them and asked "Would someone kindly explain to me what happened?"   
  
Lord Voldemort was in a bad mood. He sat in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace in that old room that had once been his father's. He sneered at the thought. He needed these memories. They gave him strength. And that was what he needed now. Very much strength to keep his head on his shoulders and not to kill all of his men just now. Because he needed them. They would be useful for some longer and it was really hard to find loyal Death Eaters in these times. He sighed and Apparated back to the meeting. He had the feeling he hadn't heard all of it yet.   
He was surprised to see that none of the Death Eaters seemed have to moved since he left them about fifteen minutes before. They were still kneeling and staring into the place he had been standing. They didn't even blink their eyes as he appeared back on the same spot. Anyway. He had a reputation to defend. He pointed his wand on the Messenger.   
"Crucio!"   
Was it just his imagination or did the crowd sigh in relief? But he didn't want to wonder for long. So he turned to the next figure in Death Eater robes.   
"Report!"   
The person, whoever it was, shivered. It wasn't easy to have to tell the Dark Lord something he did not want to hear and the person knew that. But what were the choices? The only way was telling the truth and risking the Cruciatus Curse.   
"We lost two men," the Death Eater said in a soft voice. She looked up to see her Lord's reaction. She hadn't been hit by the Curse yet and she really didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad.   
The Dark Lord just nodded. He looked at the woman before him, his face didn't show any emotion.   
"Who?" he asked.   
"Well, Pettigrew was attacked by the werewolf and they were both buried under the ruins of the house..."   
"I as much as expected that," the Dark Lord said. He seemed to think this was funny. "He was weak, it's good we got rid of him. The Resistance hasn't got a clue how helpful they were, doing the job for me," he sneered. But his face turned serious again. "Who was the other?" he commanded.   
The woman's voice didn't show any emotion as she answered the question.   
"Marcus Flint," she said.   
  
He looked around. He was surrounded with dust and stones. There was something heavy lying on top of him. He tried to move, but he couldn't. He tried to scream, but he couldn't either. There was someone lying right next to him. He tried to wake him up, but he just didn't open his eyes. There was also a woman. She, too didn't wake up. Then there were body pieces and another man. He seemed to be breathing, but he was wounded. He tried to get out, but it seemed like he was buried under a house. He wondered what had happened.   
Then he heard voices. Someone was removing stones from wherever he was. He felt the weight on top of him lighten. Then something heavy was removed and he could see light. He also could see a man. The man was looking down on him. He blinked, as if wanting to make sure he wasn't dreaming, as if making sure the man was real. Anyway, the man didn't disappear. He only turned to call something to someone behind him. Something that sounded like "I found someone!" Then there were even more men and they were all trying and digging him out. He tried to tell them that there was someone wounded next to him, but no voice came out. And as he turned his head to see at the wounded man, he realized, the man had died. He tried to remember what had happened. He remembered a huge explosion. But what was before it? He couldn't say. He looked at the faces of the dead and tried to remember who they were. There was nothing. As if he hadn't even known them.   
He was removed from the ruins and placed on a stretcher. He looked around and saw men digging out the bodys of people he had no memory of. There was someone coming towards him. Another man. The man looked at him and shook his head. He wondered if this was good or bad.   
"You have quite some injuries," the man told him. "You don't think you'd be able to tell us what happened?"   
He tried to remember. The explosion. That was all. But what had caused it? He had no idea.   
"Well, let's start with something easier," the man smiled at him. "What's your name?"   
He thought about it. His name... He knew He had a name... He must have had a name... But what was it...? He shook his head.   
He didn't remember his name.   
  
  
  
A/N: So, let me know what you think. I hope you liked it. Really. The chapter was beta read by Luinthoron. But I still need someone to check up my writing. So please, would someone be that kind and help a poor estonian fanfiction writer? And please, review. I live on your reviews, they're what keep me going. Well? Please? 


	11. The Man Without Memory

Disclaimer: With sadness, I must declare, that I don't own any of the characters or places related to Harry Potter. They are, if fact, the property of J.K.Rowling. This here is fanfiction. Which means I borrow her characters to write my own story with them and you are free to read or not read it. It doesn't affect my bank account anyway... *grin*  
  
A/N: This story is the fruit of my (very) sick fantasy. I still can't believe I actually made it as far as this. I mean - we ARE talking about chapter eleven, for Pete's sake! When I started the story I was sure it won't go over chapter eight!  
And as always, this is beta read by Luinthoron. Which doesn't mean my request from last chapter doesn't count anymore. Of course it does. So please if someone is interested in reading the chapters for "The Spy in the Inner Circle" before they are released to the Net, just start beta-reading it! I'm in desperate need for a beta whose first language is English.  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter Eleven: The Man Without Memory   
  
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a man. He was no ordinary man.   
He was, in fact, a wizard. And then he was caught in an explosion. And that   
explosion caused him to lose his memory. Months did go by and he still   
didn't know who he was. He lived a quiet life in a small town in England,   
not recalling his past. He tried everything, he was seeing the best doctors   
the Muggle-world could provide him with, but his Amnesia didn't heal. He was   
living in a small cottage as an ordinary Muggle. And then the men in black   
robes found him. They found him and told him who he was. They told him he   
was a wizard. They gave him back his wand. And they gave him back his name.   
And he thought they were his friends because they told him they were. And he   
trusted them. But they didn't give him back the thing he missed the most.   
They didn't give him back his life. Instead, they gave him another one. One   
that matched theirs. A black one.   
  
He was summoned to the Dark Lord. He knew, sooner or later he would have to   
face his old Master, but he still didn't feel like he was properly prepared   
to face Him. Lord Voldemort was, after all, well known to have exceptionally   
cruel punishments for being weak. And losing one's memory wasn't exactly something you could call someone strong for. No, he felt like he wasn't so   
strong at all after all. And he felt like he had betrayed his Master by   
losing his memory. After all, he couldn't remember any of these things his   
friends had been speaking about. All those raids of Muggle-torturing,   
killing the protectors of the Light Side, all those wonderful little parties   
where some Muggle and Mudblood girls had participated... He didn't remember   
any of it. And far, far worse. He didn't even remember his Master. He was   
feeling almost terrified. Was the Dark Lord angry with him for losing all   
his memory about Him? He dreaded to think of what his Lord might do to him   
for having associated with Muggles and not killing any of them. Even worse,   
he had found a new liking for those people (if you could call someone, who   
had no magical abilities at all, people...) who had surrounded him in those   
past months. How long had it been? He had been in that hospital for about a   
month... Then he had been released from the hospital, but that nice doctor,   
her name had been Lilith, had offered him a job as her personal secretary.   
This job had made it possible for him to survive the following four-or-so   
months. May she rest in peace (to not say pieces...). To make his conscience  
shut up, he had provided her with a burial ceremony no-one in town had ever   
seen before. Anyway... Her face, as he had performed the curse on her... it   
had been priceless. Her last dying words, her last dying thoughts had been   
for him. Somehow it had made him feel better. And for all it mattered - she   
hadn't been able to help him remember. So she really wasn't worthy of   
living. Anyone could see this, right? Even she couldn't possibly find   
anything to say against it. And for all it mattered, he had made it as   
painless as ever possible for her and prevented her from the pain and shame   
of being the hostess on one of the famous parties. That was all he had been   
able to do for her for saving his life. No-one would ever be able to say, he   
didn't repay his life debts. No-one.   
  
The Dark Lord was sitting in his favorite chair, observing the flames in the   
fireplace. This promised to be one of his most glorious hours. One of   
Dumbledore's best and most trusted men on his side... This was something he   
had always wanted. He had too few good positioned spies in Dumbledore's   
ranks. Arthur Weasley was the only one of them he had complete trust in. It   
was really hard to find loyal followers these days. Ever since that fiasco   
with that Potter-boy over fifteen years ago, people just wouldn't assume he   
was invincible, anymore that was. They used to think otherwise before. And   
he was determined to prove, he was. That's why he needed the Potter-boy   
dead. He was the living reminder of his weakness, of his temporary fall. He   
couldn't allow that kid to live. And now, with a little help from his newly   
found loyal follower... he grinned. This was going to be so easy. The boy   
trusted this new servant. He had been one of the boy's father's best friends   
and the thought of his death had almost crushed the boy. Oh, yes. The   
wizarding world assumed the new follower to have died half a year ago in an   
explosion that had wiped the house the Potter-boy had been living in with   
his relatives for almost fifteen years, from the face of the earth. Many had   
happened since. They had found Pettygrew's dead body and many wizards had   
began to doubt Black's guilt. While still on run, he seemed to have good   
chances to clear his name. Of course, if the Ministry didn't find him first.   
Minister Fudge, as always, managed to be as dense (and helpful) as ever and   
had set the imprisoning of Sirius Black as the highest priority for all   
Aurors and Ministry wizards, much to the Dark Lord's amusement. The boy   
hadn't been placed in a Muggle orphange, after all. He and his Muggle cousin   
had been adopted by a highly respected wizarding family. Namely the   
Weasleys. Arthur had been in an exceptionally bad mood for weeks. But it was   
profitable, too. Arthur's disguise had become a new adjustment with him as   
the adoptive father of Harry Potter and a Muggle boy, and he could keep an   
eye on the boy. On both of them. The charm Dumbledore had used to protect   
Potter still worked, as he was still living together with someone with blood   
relations to him. The same charm had been placed on Dudley. Not to mention   
that it would have been highley suspicious if Arthur hadn't tried and   
adopted the boys. He had been known to be very fond of the Potter-boy - a   
part of his disguise, as his children were the closest friends the boy had.   
As for his wife, she seemed to love the Potter-boy as much as her own   
children. And that ment, Harry Potter still had more luck than brains. The   
Dark Lord reached for his glass of brandy. He took a sip, and enjoyed the   
taste in his mouth for a few moments, before swallowing it. Harry Potter   
wasn't a problem anymore. Not with this new adjustment to his forces. No.   
Now it was time to think about another wizard who had been causing him   
trouble for a long time. They all thought, he was afraid of that wizard. But   
that wasn't quite true. He respected him, yes, but he wasn't afraid of him.   
No-one could be afraid of that good-hearted old man. He was gifted, anyone   
could tell that. And he would have made an excellent ally if he would have   
joined the Dark Side. But instead, he took over the lead on the Light Side,   
being the leader of the Resistance. Yes. Albus Dumbledore wasn't to be   
underestimated.   
  
He looked out of the window, over the from war devastated land. He sighed.   
How had the world come this far? He couldn't understand this. It had all   
went so well. Life had been easy, annoying relatives or not. He had always   
been able to escape into the world of magic. But now... It wasn't possible   
to tell the Muggle-world and the magical community apart. Both worlds had   
been caught in this war which promised to grow into the biggest and   
bloodyest war the world had ever seen. Not that he had seen that much of the   
world. He was only fifteen years old, for Pete's sake! But still... This war   
had taken too much from him already. The numerous attacks the Death Eaters   
had undertaken hadn't went without leaving their marks on the students. Many   
hadn't returned from summer break. Many Muggle-born and Halfbreeds, to be   
excact. Many of his friends. There were Muggle-borns and Halfbreeds who had   
lived over summer and had returned, but they were very quiet and prefered   
the company of each other, abandoning their Pureblood friends from before,   
being scared to bring doom on them. It had been hard enough to convince   
Hermione to stay with them. He and Ron had been forced to use all their   
skills in convincing to make her stay and not abandon them after her house   
had been attacked in late summer. Only after hearing of the attack on   
Harry's relatives was it, that she decided to stand by them. But it had been   
really hard to make her see, that they both were on Lord Voldemort's hit   
list on the same positions as Hermie. Maybe even higher, concidering Ron   
being the son of Arthur "The Muggle-Lover" Weasley (as Draco put it   
oh-so-gently), and Harry being, well, Harry. But there were other who hadn't   
been as lucky as Harry and Hermione. Dean Thomas hadn't been as fortunate as   
Hermione. The year had begun sad for the fifth year Gryffindors. Parvati   
seemed to be touched the most by his death. But she wasn't the only one. The   
others seemed to have lost their happy childhood, too. The whole school was   
mourning. There wasn't a single year without one or other students who   
hadn't returned from summer break and the only house which seemed to enjoy   
themselves in all this chaos, seemed to be Slytherin. Harry was more than   
sure, that the reason was Lord Voldemort. Every Slytherin was a potential  
Death Eater for students from other houses, but even as the other three   
houses ignored them, Slytherins seemed not to notice this. Or they just   
didn't care. Whenever no teacher was around, they acted as if they owned the   
school. Life was a horror, outside school walls as well as inside.   
  
  
  
He looked around. He was standing in a room he had been in so many times,   
but it was a room he didn't remember. He looked at the masked faces   
surrounding him, trying to puzzle out the identities of the people around   
him. He knew, he must have known them from before, but he had no idea who   
these people were. He tried to relax, tried not to think of what his Lord   
might do to him here and now, because he had been weak. If he was lucky, he   
might even live through this meeting, he decided.   
  
  
  
A/N: Sorry it took me this long, even though I thought, I'd have more time for writing activities now... It's just that my life got completely complicated since the last posting and... Well... Ever heard of this annoying little demon called Writer's Block? Well, he's been hanging around for a while now. I think I got rid of him, but I don't have any guarantees for it.  
As for the story... I don't think I have to tell you who the 'Man W/O Memory' was. It's more than simple to guess, right? Right! And if you think you didn't guess it - just ask.  
Also - a review would be really nice. I haven't gotten any lately (which is no wonder, since I haven't been posting anything lately, either...) and I really miss getting them. And I really want to know what you think of my story. 


	12. Found!

Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling's. Not mine (well, most of them, anyway). Not making any money, so please don't sue. Just read and review. OK?  
  
A/N: As stated before, I'm in desperate need for another beta. Someone who speaks English as his/her first language. Because I really need someone to watch over my use of this beautiful language. Anyway... This chapter, as always, is beta-read by... you guessed it... Luinthoron(!). Thanks, big brother!  
  
--Altair  
  
  
  
Chapter Twelve: Found!  
  
The Dark Lord entered the room filled with Death Eaters with a sneer on his face. He let his eyes wander over the crowd that had gathered themselves before him, searching the lines of Death Eaters for a certain man of whom he knew that he'd be there, for the first time, but whom he did put very high expectations into. He searched the crowds for his new "old" Death Eater. For Remus Lupin. And, not that he'd expected it otherwise, he did find him. Even with masked faces and hooded heads, he always knew who was there and who was who - something the Death Eaters had never been able to sort out and that they feared - a gift he had always been rather proud of.  
He went to stand in front of them, not taking his eyes off the Death Eaters, not event for a second. The intimidating look in his eyes was required to ensure him everyone's attention to 110 per cent. This was too important, he couldn't let anything go wrong. Even tough his Dark Army had been victorious since the New Invasion had started, even tough he gained more and more power with each new day, even tough more and more people joined up his Side, even then he didn't feel like he had won. Not with Dumbledore still out there in Hogwarts. Not, when he couldn't name Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry his own. But he would be very soon. Because this time, he had it all planned, and with this plan, nothing could go wrong.  
  
Professor Dumbledore was sitting in his office when he heard the knocking sound on the door. He was surprised, to tell the truth. He hadn't been expecting any company, and he doubted any of the teachers coming up just now. It was class-time, after all. And he was very sure, that nothing bad had happened inside the school walls. He lifted his eyes from the parchment he had been working on and directed them on the office door.  
"Come in!" his merry voice rang through the door and into the ears of the person standing there. He opened the door and stepped in, looking tired. Dumbledore looked up at him from behind his desk.  
"Sirius?" The Headmaster's eyes flashed with concern, but only for a second. The merry-old-man mask was back right away. But Sirius had already noticed it. "Sirius, where were you? You were to report to me two days ago. You had us all worried," the old Professor continued. "Especially Harry."  
"Sorry, Headmaster..." Sirius couldn't help it. He felt like a schoolboy again, called to the Headmaster because some prank he and the other Marauders had played. The thought of the Marauders made him smile for a moment. And then it made him remember that he was a grown up man, and the reason for the delay of his return. He looked at the old man behind the desk. "Albus, the reason why I couldn't come earlier... well, I heard some rumours and I had to check them. And it was a good thing I did. I have good news for a change."  
The old Professor seemed interested. "Really? Good news? Well, I'd suggest you'd tell them, then. We could use some good news. We haven't had any in months, I think."  
"Like I said, I just had to check this. I would never have forgiven myself, if I hadn't. And I think even Harry will see this when he hears the news. Remus is... he's alive. And I found him!"  
  
All was going according to the plan. Remus had been infiltrated into the school and no one had shown any suspect yet. They had questioned him about his disappearance, but temporary amnesia was a good enough explanation to avoid further questioning. He had told Professor Dumbledore all about the Muggle hospital, about nice Doctor Lilith and about how the wizards in black robes had found him and killed her. And that he still didn't understand how he had managed to get away without being caught. And that seeing the wizards performing the Killing Curse had brought back all the memories that had still been hiding somewhere in the darkest corners of his mind. He had acted very carefully for months, teaching Defense again and trying to get into the heads of his students. He was covering the Dark Arts in his curriculum now, trying to show his students, that it was a powerful resource that they should use to its full extend. He never told it in class, of course, but he could see, that many of his students were already considering using the Arts, not only the Defense. And this was his tactic. Not to propaganda the Arts, the students would have gone to the Headmaster right away, if he had. But to show them the possibilities and to let the students themselves decide.  
Most of the students he had already attracted to the Dark Arts were Slytherins, as he already had expected. But they weren't the only ones. He could see the fire in the eyes of those, he could corrupt. There were Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, too. Not to forget the Hufflepuffs, willing to work as hard as necessary to achieve their goals. He was trying so hard to make his Master proud of him, to redeem himself in His eyes. He had been forgiven for his weakness. He hadn't even had been put under the Cruciatus curse. His Master had been generous and welcomed him back like a lost son, not like the traitor he had felt he'd been for forgetting about his Lord and associating with Muggles...  
Remus stood up from the chair he had been sitting in, grading homework of the students. There had been a knocking sound on the door, hadn't there? His keen hearing hadn't failed him. James' son was peering into the room through a narrow gap between the door and doorframe. Remus smiled. He had found liking in this boy, even though he was to be killed soon. To be honest, he still couldn't understand how he could like someone who had destined his Lord to suffering for so long, but it made his job easier. It had been after his first Death Eater gathering after his amnesia. His Lord had ordered him to follow Him to a dark room in the mansion. He had taken seat in an enormous chair just in front of a large fireplace. Just one flick with his wand, and there had been a fire big enough to illuminate his Lord and him, but too small to let Remus get a glimpse of the other presence he had sensed in the room. A bodyguard, he reckoned, but didn't dare to ask. It was then, that his Lord had told him about Harry's dreams. And he had assigned Remus to find out how much he saw. Remus didn't really remember James, but he had been told that James, Sirius, Peter and him had been best friends at school. They had been working for Dumbledore, but Remus and Peter had joined Lord Voldemort and become his spies. James and his Mudblood wife had been working as Aurors and that had put them on Lord Voldemort's hit list. They had gone into hiding with their son after the raid where Lord Voldemort's pregnant fiance was killed. But his Lord had sworn to avenge Victoria and his child at any cost. Their secret-keeper was to be Sirius, but there was a last-minute change, leaving Peter in the role of the secret-keeper. The change had been made, because Sirius had suspected Remus to be a spy of his Lord. Well, he had been right, but seeing that Peter had betrayed James and What's-Her-Name, he had reckoned he was wrong about Remus. That had made Remus trusted by the enemy again. And now it was his turn to serve his Master. To collect information and bring it to his Lord and in the meantime, to attract more students to the Dark Arts, so that they would join his Master after graduation.  
"Yes, Harry?" Remus opened the door. "Another nightmare? Or couldn't you just get any sleep?"  
Harry opened the door and entered the room. Remus could see the silvery textile sticking out from his pocket. James' invisibility cloak. No wonder, he had not been caught by the caretaker. Harry had visited him often since his arrival and putting together pieces from what the boy had been talking about, he had learned about the origin of the cloak and about the Marauders' map. He had, of course, reported this to his Lord immediately.  
"I just couldn't sleep. I wondered..."  
"Yes, Harry? You know you can always come to me with your problems. I know I'm not your father or Sirius, but I'm always there for you, too." He tried to look as sincere as possible. OK, he was being sincere. He'd be there to listen to the Harry. This was his job, after all. And he really liked the boy. And the boy hadn't a very long life expectancy anyway.  
  
The world was sinking in chaos. The war had already crossed the borders of England and was affecting all human beings, Wizard and Muggle alike, all around the world. There were wizards who insisted, that the wizarding community should come out from the hiding and join forces with Muggles. But their government always overruled them. It had come to a special state, where all the wizarding governments had agreed to the foundation of an international council of their leaders. This wasn't just another war, Lord Voldemort had brought about the World War Three. At least, the wizarding community knew, what they standing up to. The Muggles had no means to know what they were fighting against. They were fighting their own compatriots, trying to stay alive. No-one knew what was causing people all around the world to attack others. You couldn't trust anyone in the Muggle world. Not even your own family members. There was a war where everybody was fighting everyone just to stay alive. It wasn't as if the Muggles had known what had caused this. They had no means to know about the Second War of You-Know-Who, as most of the wizarding world tended to say. Only few people called it the Second War of Voldemort. The Muggles called it just World War Three.  
The Dark Lord was sitting in his chair by the fire, watching the flames dancing, sipping his brandy. A rustling noise came from the shadows behind him. He didn't turn from the fire. He already knew who was there. Nobody else could Apparate in here besides him and this man.  
"I've been expecting you," he said, raising the goblet to his lips. The man in the shadows nodded. "I know, my Lord. And I can only apologize for coming so late. The meeting today was longer than expected, my Lord, and it would have been suspicious, had I asked to leave earlier..."  
"I know," the man in the chair answered darkly. He looked up from the goblet and glanced over to the fire. "But that doesn't mean I have to like the waiting." He stood up and went over to the fireplace, adding some firewood into the flames. He straightened up, but didn't return to the chair. Instead, he remained by the fireplace, leaning on the mantelpiece, observing the flames. "I have waited for too many years. It's time to act. I want Hogwarts and I want Dumbledore. And most of all, I want the Potter-boy dead!"  
He hadn't seen his Lord in such mood for a very long time. The way things were, it seemed, that his Lord was preparing to attack. The question was, when? And would he be allowed to fight at the side of his Lord, at last? He had been waiting for years to do so. But he had been always been forced to keep himself from intervening, just because of the cover. The cursed cover he had to keep intact. But he didn't say any of it aloud. "Yes, my Lord," was all he said, accompanied by a deep bow.   
  
  
  
A/N: It could take some time until I upload a chapter for this story again. As I already said in my profile, I will first finish "Hermione's Diary". Anyway, for those of you who have waited for this chapter to be uploaded, you must know, that it might have taken longer, had not a very sweet person sent me an e-mail and asked me to hurry up. That's why this chapter is especially for *~* Dy *~* . It was for her, that I made myself take some time away from my duties and finished this chapter that had been waiting in my computer for months. Thank you again. And please, review  
  
--Altair 


	13. Preparations Again

Disclaimer: OK, you know it, I know it, but to avoid any legal issues that might come up, I still have to do this. I do NOT own any characters or places connected with the Harry Potter books. I'd like to, yes, but they are all J.K.Rowling's creation. I DO own, however, Lady Violet (the ruler of the giants). That said, we can all move along to more pleasant things, like the actual chapter.  
  
A/N: Yippee! I've found a new second beta! So welcome all, my new second beta *~* Dy *~*. And, of course, it's still beta-read by Luinthoron, the big brother everyone would like to have but only I (and our two little sisters and our little brother) have, too. Luinthoron, just for you, Lucius is back.  
Chapter Thirteen: Preparations Again  
  
Lucius Malfoy was, once again, standing before Lady Violet. Only that this time, he wasn't here as an envoy, he felt more like a post owl. In any other occasion he would have thought of it as a disgrace to his family, but now, it was more an honour. The Dark Lord had summoned him to the Riddle house and trusted him with this letter of greatest importance. Lucius would have preferred to remain in England, of course, preparing for the battle together with all the other Death Eaters. But then again, this vas a very important mission and he had been elected for it. And he was very proud of it. Not even mainly because of himself, but his son could be very proud of him because of this. He had been elected to deliver the summons to battle to the giants.  
  
"Lucius, my friend," the Dark Lord had said when he had stood in front of his Lordship, "I want you to go on a little trip for me. We will attack soon and I need the giants in this battle. I will announce the details to my other loyal followers at the gathering tonight, but I need you to leave at once and take this letter to Lady Violet. You will find your instructions in this envelope," he added, giving him yet another sealed envelope, "you will have time enough to read them on your journey. Your carriage is waiting. We will be expecting you and the giants."   
  
Lucius hadn't even had time to say good-bye to his wife. Thankfully enough, the carriage had been supplied with parchment and ink as well as an owl. He had written to Narcissa telling her not to worry and that there had been unexpected circumstances that had forced him to travel up to the north for some time. And he had written to his son telling him about his mission and it's importance. And now he was here standing before the amethyst-eyed giantess. Lady Violet looked at him with concern in her eyes. She had hoped against hope that it wouldn't come to this. But the sealed scroll in the messenger's hands really didn't hint on a visit out of friendship. No. This meant things were serious. But she had signed the alliance. She had done it for the memory of his father. And she couldn't back off now. She stood up and covered the distance between the envoy and herself with only few steps.  
"So it's time, Lucius? Your Lord needs our assistance?" she asked, accepting the scroll Lucius was still holding out to her.   
  
The question was only formal and Lucius knew it. But still, courtesy rules said that he had to answer anyway.   
  
"Yes, my Lady," he said, "I think so. I was trusted with this letter, but I was not told, what is written in there. I can only guess."  
  
Well, that wasn't a direct lie. Lord Voldemort hadn't told him what this letter hid. He had written it in Lucius' instructions, yes, but he hadn't told him. Lady Violet seemed to believe him, anyway. She turned and went to sit back in her chair, opening the scroll only after being in the comforting presence of her Father's old chair. The letter was just what she had expected it to be a request to send giants' troops to a wizards' war. But there was nothing she could have done to avoid this. Her Father had been allied with Lord Voldemort and if she had refused to sign the new alliance she would have dishonoured her whole clan. And if she were to back off of the contract now she would have done the same. But her giants weren't magical like the wizards. They were a terrifying force, when attacking together, that was right, but there was more to consider now. One of her giantesses had already switched sides. She had let herself be convinced the false promises Dumbledore had tried to fool her with. Or no, she had let herself be convinced by the choice of envoys Dumbledore had made. Even though Lady Violet could see Fridwulfa's motives, as one of Dumbledore's envoys had been her son, she still couldn't forgive her the betrayal. If she didn't want to fight her own son she should have said so, and she would have been left home to take care of the children of the ones fighting the war for tolerance and rights for giants. But she had left with the half-breeds, soiling the name of all giants with her betrayal. Never before had a giant broken a promise, but now, how was she to ever give the giants back the honourable name they had once had, if not by holding on to the alliance contract?  
  
"Very well," she said to Lucius. "My army will stand ready to leave in two days. I take it; your Lord has also renewed other old allies? Our battle forces alone won't be enough to fight Dumbledore I'm afraid. Of what I've heard, he is one of the most skilled wizards these days and, as you might remember, we are not a magical folk. There are a few of us, who have this gift, as myself, as you know, but it's rare and those of us who are magical haven't received the training they should have. No wizarding school wants to accept giant children for education anymore. I have taught the few with this gift myself, but I am no master in these arts. Still, they will be able to help you, should there be need for this."  
  
"You are right, my Lady, as always," Lucius answered. "We have the Dementors on our side, as well as an army of werewolves. We have vampires on our side, as well. Oh, and not to forget the new addition to our allies, the Veelas."   
  
He noticed Lady Violet crumpling her nose, but did not let himself be bothered by that. Women didn't like Veelas; there was no way around this. Lucius strongly suspected that it had something to do with the effect they had on men. But just because of this influence on the male behaviour, they were such an effective addition to Lord Voldemort's troops. Wizards of the Resistance and the Ministry - they had to be counted separately - would be no problem because of this. But the witches that fought in the war were another matter. But then again, there weren't as many witches fighting, as there were wizards and once the wizards were taken care of, Lord Voldemort's foes would have lost almost two thirds of their battle forces.  
  
"Veelas are hardly a respectable battle unit," Lady Violet countered. "They are too unpredictable, too unstable and…"   
  
"Totally capable to take on most of our opponents by themselves," Lucius cut her off. "Most of our opponents are wizards, my Lady. They are men. And you should know how well Veelas can handle men!"   
  
Lady Violet was giving Lucius a death glare now. She wasn't used to being interrupted while talking. As the ruler of giants, the giantess was accustomed to being treated with the greatest respect. Even the Dark Lord had always showed deepest respect towards the giantess and her father. Lucius, too, realised his mistake now.   
  
"My Lady, please forgive me this outburst. We all have been under much pressure during these times and I am inconsolable about having let it show in front of you. It won't happen again, my Lady," he quickly added with a deep bow.   
  
Lady Violet, although a little shocked about the way she had just been talked to, calmed down evidently. "Times of war tend to have this effect on humans," she said. "You, my friend, have seen more of it lately than my people and I. It would be unwise of me to presume that it hasn't affected you at all. I will forgive you your rudeness this time. It would, as you might suppose yourself, of course, be wiser to not let your temper slip like this again." There was a threatening tune in her voice, even though her face retained the look of kindness that had been there always. "Now that that's told, would you please bring my knowledge of this war up to date?"  
Something was coming. Something big. Dumbledore knew it. The Death Eaters had been too quiet lately. This could only mean that they were preparing for something. Even the Minister seemed to have noticed. He had summoned Dumbledore to the Ministry this very evening for counselling. Last time this had happened before this war broke free. Before Riddle… no, there was nothing of Tom Riddle left in the beast that was now known as Voldemort… before his resurrection. The two men had talked for hours in a sealed cabinet, but Dumbledore still hadn't agreed to help Minister Fudge. They hadn't agreed on one particular topic, one thing that was more important than anything else for some of Dumbledore's people, the topic of Sirius Black. And in this matter, Dumbledore was not willing to give up his demands. Sirius had to be pardoned. No, Sirius' name had to be cleared. The Ministry had to apologise and announce that the one who had betrayed the Potters and killed all those people hadn't been Sirius, that it had been Peter Pettigrew instead. Well, the only witnesses who had seen Pettigrew alive had been Remus, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Remus was a werewolf, as unreliable as a witness could be. The fact that he had recently suffered from amnesia didn't add to his reliability either. Harry was a parseltongue, which meant, that his testimony couldn't be trusted, too. And he was a child, as were Ronald and Hermione. Minister Fudge just couldn't see that they could be trusted not to lie in manners of this importance. He just repeated what he had heard from Snape on the night of Sirius' escape - they were just brainwashed children. There was no way Dumbledore hadn't tried convincing the Minister about Sirius' innocence, but he had no real evidence and Cornelius just wouldn't listen to him. This had been a lost battle from the beginning on.   
  
He was back at Hogwarts now sitting in his office with a large cup of hot cocoa in his hands. Fawkes eyed him with concern. The intelligent bird realised well enough that the old man's mind was troubled. Even though Dumbledore never showed it to other humans, he was very worried. Fawkes was the only one who saw Professor Dumbledore without his mask of carefree happiness. The bird lifted its head and produced a long trilling sound. The old man smiled and looked up to the bird. It always did this. It was magical, of course, but so were the cheering charms. And he really preferred the bird's song. He knew the bird cared deeply for him and let it cheer him up when it wanted. As the things were lately, the cheering effect wouldn't last for long, anyway.  
He apparated into a completely dark room and was surprised to find no lighting at all, to tell the least. As long as he remembered, there had always been a fire lit in the fireplace when he came here. But as for now, it was filled with darkness so deep that he couldn't even see his own hand before his eyes. And what made him even more curious was the fact that he didn't sense any other presence in the room. Wondering what his Lord was up to now, Arthur disapparated from the old room in the Riddle house again. There was something telling him that there was something strange going on.  
A/N: Sorry it took that long again. I'll try to hurry up with the next chapters. There aren't that many left, you know…  
As for now - please, review!  
  
--Altair 


	14. Remember The Dreams!

Disclaimer: Like I already stated before, all characters and places related to the Harry Potter books are the creation of Mrs. J.K.Rowling. If they were mine, I'd be too busy writing the sixth book to write fanfiction ;) !  
  
A/N: Beta-read by Luinthoron and *~* Dy *~*. My thanks to you both. And just to remind you all - this is (presumably) the penultimate chapter of The Spy. Makes me somehow sad... :(  
  
--Altair  
Chapter Fourteen: Remember the Dreams  
The days were passing in a hurry. The exams were only a month away and Harry was having 'dreams' almost every night. He couldn't concentrate and Hermione made him study even harder than she had in the previous years.   
  
The teachers too seemed to be getting more and touchier, much to the students' disappointment. It had only been yesterday, that Professor McGonagall had given Hermione (!) a detention because she had dared to ask a Voldemort-related question in her class. That much for Hermione being her favourite student. Hermione had been in a shock-like state the whole day. No wonder, as she had never received a detention before.   
  
Harry still couldn't understand what had made their Head of House to lose her temper like that. Especially considered, that Professor McGonagall had always stayed on top of the things, even back in his second year with the Chamber of Secrets opened and the basilisk loose on the school. Even then she had never lost her temper. And the fact that she had done it meant that things were really bad. There was also the fact that Death Eaters had been unusually quiet for the last... how long had it been anyway?   
  
The Dark Lord had haunted Harry's dreams almost every night now, but he still hadn't been able to provide much information for the Resistance. Somehow, he seemed to be forgetting most of the dreams very quickly in these last days. Remus tried to ensure him that it wasn't his fault, but he still felt like he'd been letting everybody down. They relied upon him and he, he couldn't even do such a small task as to remember his own dreams.   
  
Every night he woke up from nightmares, he walked down to Remus' office to speak with him. He was easier to find than the Headmaster, and somehow, Remus was like a second father having been one of his father's best friends. He told Remus all he remembered and he really tried to remember more - somehow he knew, that there had to be more, but he never succeeded. It was as if he had been Obliviated somewhere between waking and speaking to Remus. But he never met anyone on his way to Remus. Or did he just not remember? But they didn't learn Memory Charms in school, did they? Maybe in sixth or seventh year. A Slytherin perhaps? Could there be a Slytherin waiting for him every night, waiting to erase his dreams? Harry shook his head. That was too far-fetched, even for the wizarding world. No, it was him. He was the one forgetting significant details of his dreams, trying to find someone to blame where there was no-one to blame. He just had to try harder.  
  
He looked down over the school grounds, covered in the darkness of night. He shivered. From the back of his mind a talk he and the Headmaster had had only three days ago came back to haunt him. There had been attack on Smeltings; the Muggle-school Dudley attended to. All teachers and students had been killed. Had Harry dreamt of the plan and forgotten the dream? Could he have done something to save his cousin and he just let him die? Something was nagging in the back of his mind, telling him that it was his fault. And still, he didn't remember.   
  
The voice of reason told him that he couldn't be possible for all the deaths of last months. That Voldemort didn't wait until it was time for Harry to sleep, to plan his killings. A part of Harry didn't want to go to sleep. Didn't want to wake covered in sweat, panting, not even remembering what had been so horrible to wake him. He was exhausted from sleepless nights. He needed the sleep, but wasn't allowed any. He wanted to sleep, to dream and remember, but he didn't remember much of his dreams of the last months. He couldn't fight the feeling that something was wrong here. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Giving one last glance on the grounds, he walked over to his bed and climbed in.  
Professor Dumbledore was getting troubled as well. He knew he shouldn't have used Harry as a source of information to that extend, but still. The boy had given very important leads in the years past. But he wasn't able to do so, lately, even though his visions of Voldemort became more frequent, daily, one could even call them. And for once, the Headmaster was having exactly the same thoughts as Harry. Was someone altering the boy's memories of what he had dreamt? He knew that Harry only remembered talking to Remus about the dreams. But could there be another party working right here inside Hogwarts' walls?   
  
In spite of the popular belief, he was all but omniscient. He put on a good enough show to mislead everyone, but still, even he could be deceived by powerful enough dark magic. And recovering memories wasn't a simple task. It could be achieved, if the loss of memories had been brought upon by some mundane means, like a blow on the head, a severe accident or was psychological like blocking out painful memories. But there were also memories that couldn't be brought back. Ever. These were the ones caused by severe brain damage or - and the Headmaster hoped against hope this would not be the cause at hand - magic.  
  
Harry had already been through more than a boy of his age ever should have been. Ever since his birth he had been in the midst of the action. He had been a child of war, as had been many of his schoolmates. The children had been the fuel that had kept their parents going, resisting Voldemort, and fighting for a better world for them. Every child of that era had somehow given strength to their parents, given them hope, a reason not to give in. Little Harry had been something special, even back then. A smile crawled over the old Professor's lips. He had already given Harry a hint on that, but the boy hadn't used the moment to ask and somehow, the old man was more than sure, that he wouldn't remember to ask now.   
  
He had told Harry on the morning after Peter's escape. Sibyll had made two real predictions by now. Harry hadn't thought about asking what the first prediction had been.   
  
The first one had been made on the day on Harry's birth. The one stating, that the Son of the Flower and the Stag will banish the Dark Lord. This prophecy had caused said Flower - Lily, and Stag - James, to go into hiding to protect their son, as Severus had informed the Headmaster, that the Dark Lord had somehow learned about the prophecy and he hadn't been happy. By now, Dumbledore suspected who could have told the Dark Lord about the prediction, but back then, he had been as much in the dark as everybody else. How he could have let himself be fooled by the little man, he'd never understand.   
  
Peter hadn't been what one would call an outstanding student. He hadn't been the slowest to learn, but nothing supreme. The only class he had had better results than the average student had been Transfiguration. All of the Marauders had been good at it. Now to think of it, it was no wonder they had been able to master the Animagus transformation by themselves, as skilled as they were on the subject...   
  
But his mind was wandering again. That was all in the past now and the matter at hand was Harry. Could it be that he was blocking the memories of his dreams unconsciously by himself? That was another theory to be controlled. Harry was blaming himself for not being able to provide any significant information, everyone who knew the boy could see that. The fact that he kept forgetting his dreams was eating him up from inside, but he yet had to confess this to an adult. And as long as he didn't come looking for help himself, no one would be able to help him.  
The silence was deafening. There was no better way to describe this. The Dark Lord entered the room that was filled with anticipation. You could have heard a pin drop, had someone been foolish enough to bring a pin and drop it. Slowly, he made his way up to the front and looked on the gathered people. The room they were in had been magically extended from the inside. Had this not been done, it never would have been big enough for this gathering. He let his eyes wander over the gathered army. A devilish smile appeared on his face for a moment. Then, he addressed the crowd.  
  
"My friends, my allies. Late is the hour that we gather here, hidden from the eyes of the world to celebrate our alliance. This will not be for always. Most of us have fought together before and we all know what we are standing up against. We all welcome the new addition in our midst, the race of veelas, who also have been depressed by the wizarding world for too long.   
  
The Muggle-loving wizarding government has too long discriminated the magical beings, just to keep the Muggles safe. Muggles, who don't even show gratitude for being kept safe by them. Most of them don't know, of course, but there are also these who know and who think that this is the way it always should be. Muggles, who in their selfishness never think, that the 'creatures' they are protected from, are intelligent beings on their own, whose freedom is bounded only to keep them away from the Muggles' eyes. Who have been driven away from their original homelands into reservations to make way for Muggle cities or whose homes are magicked and who are prohibited to cross the boundaries set by the wizarding government. Where does the Ministry take the right to regulate the lives of giants, werewolves or veelas? Who has given them the right to tell where a vampire or dragon can go to or not?   
  
My friends, my allies, not every wizard thinks that this is the way things were meant to be. The Muggles have showed hostility towards the wizards, too, all through the history. Why should we offer them protection then? They have tried to extinguish our kind and driven us into hiding, but for no longer. For we will no longer tolerate the way our Ministry is crouching before the Muggles. We will show them, that the wizarding world needs to be freed from the reign of Mudbloods. That we the mages, and you, our friends and allies, can share a world even though the Muggles aren't willing to share the world with us. And for that, my friends, my allies, we will fight. And as others will know what we are fighting for, they will join our cause.  
  
There is already a war going on, as you all know. But tomorrow, my friends and allies will be a day worth remembering. All around the world, our allies are gathering for a simultaneous attack on the most important wizarding institutions of their region. And so will we tomorrow at sundown, bring Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into our hands. All of you who have children at Hogwarts your offspring have nothing to fear when they know where their loyalties should lie. But do not show any mercy against those who fight against you.  
  
There is one more issue that needs to be taken care of. Many of you might not know this, but one of the reasons I barely existed for over a decade was the fact that we had a spy in our midst. A spy who was working for Dumbledore. Many of you knew Severus Snape as a young and promising wizard. None of us suspected him to betray us. But he did and betrayal we cannot forgive, can we? Many of us who fell during the last war were killed on his account. We need to avenge our fallen friends. Severus Snape shall not be let survive the night!  
  
But for now, my friends and my allies, we all need rest. You all are familiar with our strategy and you all know what to do. For you all know that tomorrow we will have a very draining night."   
With that he Disapparated leaving his army to prepare. The speech had had the intended effect on his allies, he had seen it mirrored in their faces. If all went well, Hogwarts would fall before dawn the day after tomorrow.  
  
There was also another person who had Disapparated as soon as his Lord was gone. Just a moment later he found himself in the shrieking shack and after transfiguring his clothes, made his way through the old tunnel. He had to hurry. Should Harry have been observing the gathering in his dreams he would certainly want to talk to him any minute now. And he didn't want to be spotted sneaking into the school by night.  
He was luckier than he'd imagined.   
  
He reached his locked up office, unlocked it and grabbed the first book in his reach - "Lycanthropy - curse of the wolf" - and opened it somewhere in the middle. Seating himself by the fire, he let his eyes wander over the pages of parchment. This book looked familiar. As if he'd had read it over and over again for many times. He dismissed the feeling. Of course he would have read a book about his... condition... He made a mental note to read the book sometimes later, after Hogwarts' fall. He'd have plenty of time then, he'd reckoned.  
  
The flames in the fireplace turned green for an instant and something flew out of it and settled down in front of the fireplace. A black envelope tied with a black ribbon. He stood up and took the letter. Placing it between the book he opened the letter. The instructions given were very short and clear.  
  
"Make sure Dumbledore hears about the attack. We will bring down all his operatives with this attack."   
  
There was no signature. The letter didn't need one. There was only one person in the whole world who could have written this. He stood up and threw the letter in the flames. He had his instructions, now all he had to do was act.  
  
He had just seated himself behind the desk, as he heard a knocking sound on the door. Smiling to himself, he asked the knocker to enter.  
He hadn't been mistaken. It was Harry. And a very frightened Harry too. Remus stood up; closing the book and covered the space between them with a speed he hadn't thought to be possible. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, he guided Harry to the chair opposite to his desk and helped him sit down. Only after making sure, the boy was sitting comfortable enough, he opened his mouth.   
  
"Harry, what happened?"   
  
The boy just stared in space.   
  
"Would you want anything? Maybe a hot cocoa to calm you down?"   
  
Harry still didn't open his mouth, but he nodded. Not very enthusiastically, but Remus still spotted the nod and acted accordingly giving orders to the kitchen over the fireplace to bring two hot cocoas up to his office.   
  
As the mugs appeared, Harry needed to have the mug placed in his hands before he would even start to sip on his drink. But as soon as he had swallowed the first hot mouthful, he seemed to be pulled out of his almost catatonic state.   
  
"They... they're gonna attack Hogwarts!" he said, his eyes still filled with horror.   
  
Remus choked on his cocoa, so that Harry had to slap him on the back a few times. Never to be said he wasn't a good actor! When he was able to breathe again normally he looked the boy in the eyes.   
  
"Tell me, what did you see?"  
  
Harry told him all about the Death Eater meeting. About the speech Lord Voldemort had held and who had been gathered as his allies. When he ended his tale he looked at his teacher.   
  
Remus had stood up halfway through the story and went to stand by the fireplace. Now, he was muttering something Harry did not hear. He didn't notice the wand either. He had reached a hypnosis-like stadium, after the spell had hit him. Remus lowered the wand and went over to the boy.  
  
"You will forget whom you saw on the Death Eaters gathering. You will forget all about the strength of his army and his speech. You will forget everything that was said in this room. You came to me to tell me about your latest dream of Lord Voldemort. You saw him talking to masked Death Eaters. You do not know how many there were but there couldn't have been more than twenty. He plans to attack Hogwarts tomorrow at sundown.   
  
You awoke after hearing this and you came to see me. I made you sit down and summoned two hot cocoas from the kitchen, as you weren't in shape to talk before. You took one sip and told me that Lord Voldemort is going to attack Hogwarts."   
  
He made sure Harry sat on his chair, holding his mug in hands. Then, he sat back behind his desk and directed his wand at Harry under the desk.   
  
"Enervate!" he muttered, bringing his own mug of cocoa to his lips and taking a sip.   
  
As Harry awakened from the trance, Remus started coughing again, choking on his cocoa. And after being slapped on the back, he turned towards the boy, again.   
  
"Tell me, what did you see?"  
  
"There was a gathering. Voldemort was talking to his Death Eaters. They are going to attack the school at sundown tomorrow!" Harry told him.   
  
He looked at the boy sympathetically. "Drink your cocoa," he told him. "It will help you calm down. I have to tell the Headmaster…"  
A/N: Please, I know, I'm annoying and all, but please, review. Especially, as there won't be that much chapters coming up... Oh... and the thing about Peter having been good at least at Transfiguration, I wouldn't have thought about it myself, but we had a conversation about this with my older brother (you know him as Luinthoron) and he came up with the idea that he couldn't have been that stupid (at least in this class!) as everyone always makes him out to be, as he WAS able to master the Animagus transformation. Credits to Luinthoron for that!  
  
--Altair 


	15. Finale

Disclaimer: As sad as it makes me, there characters, places and everything else connected to the Harry Potter books are not fruits of my own limited fantasy. No, the fantastic J.K.Rowling made them all up. I just wish I had a fraction of her talent…  
  
A/N: Well, this is it. The final chapter. Before you move on to reading this, please retain in mind, that THIS CHAPTER IS DARKER THAN THE ONES I HAVE WRITTEN BEFORE. There will be deaths of some essential characters of this story in this chapter. Read only if you think that you are strong enough to handle this.  
  
Many thanks to my wonderful betas Luinthoron and *~*Dy*~* and Puzzler for their help, I really appreciated it. And I wouldn't have been able to write it to the end, if not for you all. All the reviewers, thank you very much for your support. It's good to write if you know, that people really read your work :).  
  
This last chapter was beta-read only by Luinthoron. I've been waiting for for two and a half months to get the beta-ed file back from *~*Dy*~*, but as I still haven't got it, I decided to post it now anyway. It's been already too long, hasn't it? And it IS the final chapter!  
  
--Altair  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Finale  
  
The next day passed like a blur. Professor Dumbledore sent word to everyone in the resistance to organise the school's defence. He also tried to get help from the Ministry. That's when Minister Fudge really exploded. After he had heard, how they had received the information about the forthcoming attack, he not only refused to send any help, their argument about the reliability of Harry as a source of information reached the dimensions where the Minister of Magic threatened to order the school board to disengage Dumbledore and to have him sent to St Mungo's. Unnecessary to say, they didn't part on very friendly terms. More accurately, they had never parted ways on more belligerent terms. There was not enough time to evacuate the school. They would have needed to know about the oncoming attack sooner, to have the train ready. That meant that the students were all going to be at school on the time of the attack. That, too, troubled Dumbledore a lot. Hogwarts might be one of the safest places on Earth, but he still would have preferred to meet a direct attack on it without any students there to get hurt. There was, of course the advantage of being able to engage volunteering sixth and seventh years' students on the defence, but he was more than worried about the younger students. Many of them would overestimate their knowledge and power and try and join the battle, others would surely panic and try to escape – and run right into the arms of Voldemort's troops. How was he supposed to defend the school if he didn't even know from where Tom would attack? He knew, when the attack would occur, but he was still not able to satisfactorily organise the defences as he didn't know where exactly to place his little army. It looked as if he would be forced to place defenders scattered all over the school, which would reduce the defence ability in all massively. After all – the defence line would be able to form normally only after the battle – and it promised to become one – had already begun, for the defenders would have to rush to the place the attack took place from all over the school. There was no telling just how much this uncertainty would move the scales in Lord Voldemort's behalf. Needless to say, that the old Professor hadn't been this worried for a very long time.  
  
Lord Voldemort was sitting in the same blood-red chair as always, when he arrived. The room was as dark as ever with the curtains drawn and the only source of light being the lighted fireplace. Arthur remembered when he was here the first time. It had been just a few days after the man in that chair had saved his life. It had been the first time he had ever considered working with and for the Dark Lord. That time, Lord Voldemort had opened his eyes to the problems of wizardkind. To the weakening of the wizard blood because of intermarriages with Muggles and Mudbloods, to the threat the Muggles would someday turn out to be, should they discover that magic exists, just because there was more Muggles than wizards. There had once been a time when Arthur had really liked the Muggles and he had really been interested in Muggle artefacts. And even though dealing with those had become disgusting for him, he still managed to uphold the image of an Muggle-obsessed poor wizard just to help the Dark Lord on achieving his ultimate goal – freeing the world from these lower creatures that were also called Muggles. There was also the issue of Mudbloods. They were magical, after all. But still, that didn't mean that they would have to be allowed to stick up their noses the way they did. No, the Mudbloods, if allowed to live, would become a lower class of workers. They would not be allowed to marry Pureblood wizards in order not to weaken their blood lines, they would have to find their partners for life in their own ranks, remove all children with no magical powers and maybe someday, generations away, when they had managed to produce fully magical clans, their successors would be allowed to have relationships with older families and get better jobs. This was going to be the future. A future for wizardkind, where wizards would not have to hide themselves from the world. A world he was going to help to build.  
  
"My Lord." Arthur bowed his head towards the man in the chair from the shadows. Even though the man almost never faced him in this room, he still seemed to know every move he made in here. It was somehow creepy and reassuring on the same time. Like there was at least one thing in the world that you could always count on.  
  
"I was expecting you," the man in the chair answered. He did not stand up nor did he turn around. He just continued to observe the flames in the fireplace – an obsession of his Arthur had never quite understood, even though he too seemed to like the fire. The fire… Maybe this was the reason he had acted in Arthur's behalf that time. Maybe it had been because Arthur reminded him of the fire with his flaming red hair? Had this been the reason he had first thought it a shame that such a wizard was a loyal member of Dumbledore's Resistance? Had this been the reason he had saved this man from grave danger to lure him over to his side. Maybe, but maybe not. This man was worthy of being considered a friend, unlike most of his Death Eaters. Most of them were just hungry for power and wanted their fun with the Mudbloods and Muggles, having no brains and creativity on their own. There were only few that really had earned his respect. The ones that had suffered in Azkaban all these years because they had been proud about the fact that they had been Death Eaters, for example. But there was only one he would call a friend and mean it. And that was the man behind him in the shadows. The one who was loyal, but had always a brain and who knew how to use it, the one who could fool Dumbledore himself. Silence was spreading out around the room. Neither man said anything, they were both just looking into the flames from their respective places, Arthur trying to think of a good way to place his request, Lord Voldemort just waiting for the other man to start speaking.  
  
"I know why you came," he said finally, when the room had been silent for about five minutes. Arthur looked away from the fire, to the chair that was occupied by his Lord. "I know what you are going to ask. I can't say I'm surprised, though."  
  
There was something about the Dark Lord. Something not every man was capable of. He always made you feel as if he had known what you were going to do, even before you had decided to do that yourself. Even more. He made you feel as if he had not only known you would do that, but as if he had planned for you to do that himself. Arthur had not been summoned here, today. He had also not set word about his coming and yet the Dark Lord seemed to have known exactly when he would arrive in the shadows of this old room. Some of the Death Eaters found it highly irritating, but it also held them in line. Well, maybe he just did know each and every one of his Death Eaters better than they did themselves…  
  
Arthur looked away from the fire, in the direction where his Lord was sitting. His Lord had never used that particular merit of his on him before. He had heard that the Dark Lord was able to "read minds" as some people liked to put it, but he had never seen it himself. He was somewhat taken aback by those words, but he pulled himself together in a fraction of a moment. "Very well, then, my Lord. In that case, I would like to ask about your answer. Am I permitted, then?" he asked. Well, that wasn't exactly the first time he had come to his Lord with this particular request. The answer had always been no, but he never gave up hope, that his Lord would change his mind someday. About a battle. Well, he already knew what his Lord would answer, but it didn't hurt to at least try.  
  
"Very well, if this battle is dominated by us, you can," came the voice of the Dark Lord from the enormous chair.  
  
Arthur almost choked. He had been sure his request would be rejected as always. This time, it took him several minutes to recover from the surprising answer. He took a deep bow in the direction of his Lord. "Thank you, my Lord."  
  
"But don't forget. On one condition only," the Dark Lord reminded him again to make sure he had really understood the permission in whole. "Only if it is clear that Dumbledore's Resistance is going down."  
  
The sun was setting on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The setting sun had never before faced the school this silent. There were no students hurrying to their dormitories after hours, no teachers rushing in the direction of their rooms, even Peeves seemed to have decided that this night was not meant for his pranks and he was nowhere to be seen. There were some people all around the school, standing in small groups, but they were so quiet one could have heard a needle fall. The air was filled with suspense, the people in the school, no matter whether in common rooms, dormitories or standing in small groups in the corridors, were all filled with the same tension. Every person in the school, even the ghosts, was listening even to the smallest noises to determine the direction of the coming attack, but all they could hear was their own breath in this silence. Not one of them even dared to move, not to accidentally make some noises to mislead the others. Even the ever so nosy cat of caretaker Filch, Mrs Norris seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Not that anybody would have cared about this. There were worries enough without having to find a cowardly cat. And most of the people who had had experience with the cat in their own schooldays (and the current students of sixth and seventh years) were more than happy to be able to walk the corridors without the sneaky cat right behind them. Not that they'd been walking, but it was still good to know to be able to.  
  
The last sunbeams were dying away behind the Forbidden Forest. Then, there was silence. Utter and total silence in almost complete darkness as the old mood had almost disappeared into nothingness. And yet another minute in silence went by, the people in the castle wondering, whether the information about an attack at sundown was really correct. And then, the front doors burst open. No-one had seen Lord Voldemort's army to arrive at the door. No-one had reported an army of this size to be spotted walking the grounds of Hogwarts and yet, there they were. The wizards and witches and all the creatures Voldemort had managed to convince. And their numbers were really something. None of the people in the castle had been expecting this. There was also no reason to be wondering why the doors had given up so easily. In the front, one could see a really big foot. Somewhere near it should have been also the other one, but one could not see it properly if looking through the door. One of the giants had just kicked the doors open.  
  
For one moment, no-one moved. And then, as if a dam had broken, the battle arose. The first group of defenders, the ones standing at the door, was easily defeated. They had been too surprised to even react. But everyone in the castle had heard the doors being kicked open and the whole army of the Resistance was now hurrying in the direction of the Entrance Hall. And, unknown to anyone else, another person was heading in the same direction, well covered by his invisibility cloak. That, of course was no other than Harry Potter. As the guardians of the Houses had been given order not to open for anyone besides sixth and seventh years, he had sneaked out behind Fred and George, wearing his cloak and had been hiding from the defence groups in an empty classroom. He had felt the need to be part of this battle. Somehow, he still felt responsible and felt the need to atone himself at least in his own eyes by fighting this battle. He was sure, that no-one would think of sending him back to the Gryffindor tower once the battle was already going on. After all, he had faced the threat named Lord Voldemort (or Tom Riddle) numerous times before and he had always come out of it on top. Well, maybe it was pure luck that he did, but still, he had the experience of fighting Lord Voldemort unlike the sixth and seventh years, even though he was still in his fifth.  
  
Remus was facing a young boy of about sixteen years, one of his own students. One of his favourite ones, too. One, who really understood the meaning of the Dark Arts and who had been one of his top sixth years. And who was now fighting for Dumbledore, who was fighting against him. Well, he really liked the boy. There weren't that many young people talented in the Arts and the Defence. But it had to be. He had to erase this talent for his Lord. Well, he was going to make it a quick death for the boy, not because he would have preferred quick killing but because he respected his enemy and didn't want to torture him. He raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" The boy's eyes were full of surprise the moment he died. Remus turned to face his next opponent, but in the same moment, he was hit by a curse from behind. He hadn't seen the curse coming. One of his fellow Death Eaters had dodged a curse, but he had been so caught up in his own fight that he hadn't noticed anything that went on around him. He fell to the ground, his head hitting the floor, hard. For a moment, everything went black. And then, he could see more clearly than he had seen for months. He could see what he had been and what he had become. What he had allowed to be made out of him. He, one of the best friends of James Potter and a loyal helper of Dumbledore had let himself be used. Used as a spy against Dumbledore. Used to spy after James' son. Used to kill his own students... No! This couldn't be happening. This was impossible! But yet he knew that it was true. He had become a tool for Voldemort to be used against Dumbledore, to be used to steal Harry's memories. And he had killed an innocent boy. He had killed an innocent boy for Lord Voldemort! He had used an Unforgivable to do that, too. How would he ever be able to look at himself in a mirror after what he had done? He had killed, just for the fun of it. He remembered the woman who had helped him after he had lost his memory. And he had paid for her assistance by killing her. He had tortured Muggles and Muggle-borns... Remus opened his eyes. He was not worthy of anyone's forgiveness. And there was only one thing he could do to even barely make up for all he had done. He raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" His hand fell to the ground next to his lifeless body, still clutching the wand witch was directed at himself.  
  
The enemy troops had already managed to get deeper into the castle. There were battle noises coming from everywhere. Harry was hurrying towards the Great Hall, hoping to be able to help. He had already pocketed his invisibility cloak. It was great for sneaking around, but it seemed to get in one's way once one was in a hurry. The wand drawn, he moved towards the open doors. There were people in there, he could see. People fighting each other to the death. And there were many of them. He could see Professor Dumbledore fighting three Death Eaters at the same time. Harry stopped only for a moment before rushing into the battle himself. He started to hurl curses and hexes at Death Eaters, tried to disarm them, dodging spells on the same time. Somewhere on his left he saw four Death Eaters surrounding Professor Snape. Harry was not sure if he should be angry or glad about that. Sure, Professor Snape lived to make his life Hell, but he still was a loyal member of the Resistance and had put his own life on the line of fire, spying on Lord Voldemort. Not hesitating another moment, Harry shot another curse aiming for the Death Eaters surrounding the nasty Professor. But he was not given time to see, if he was successful. There was already a masked Death Eater before him. He did not recognise the voice, but he could almost hear the sneer on his face. "Look at that, if this isn't the Potter boy... Master will be very pleased to hear about your passing..." And he shot the Cruciatus Curse at Harry. The boy only barely managed to duck the curse. Somewhere behind him, he heard someone scream out in pain. The curse that had missed him had found another victim. Who, Harry did not know. He didn't have time to turn and look, he had to concentrate fully fighting and surviving. Somewhere further on his right he heard people exult. Most of the people risked a peek in the direction of the jubilant noises, and were struck by horror. Harry, too looked in this direction and would almost have been hit by a curse for he completely forgot about defending himself at the view he saw. He had managed to look just in time to see Dumbledore fall. Forgetting all about where and when he was, he started running toward the old wizard, covering the space between them in no time at all, not wanting to believe the obvious. He was searching for a pulse, for some signs of life, not even noticing the fact that most of the Resistance was now trying to protect him from the curses of the Death Eaters. Someone took his hand and dragged him away from the lifeless body of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry looked up and met the warm and worried eyes of his foster father. He started struggling.  
  
"We must go back! Professor Dumbledore needs our help! Can't you see, we can't just leave him lying there, they will kill him!" Harry cried, but Arthur just shook his head sadly.   
  
"There's nothing we can do for him, anymore, Harry. He's dead and so will be you if you go back there now. Didn't you see how everyone was trying to protect your life as you were sitting by Dumbledore? How they started fighting without thinking, getting cursed in return. You're a symbol of freedom to them, and they will all get killed if you go and put your life on risk. Do you really want to do that?!"  
  
Harry shook his head and followed Mr Weasley through the corridors, his mind racing. Professor Dumbledore was dead. The only person Lord Voldemort had ever feared had fallen. What were they going to do?  
  
There seemed to be fighting all around them. They were headed for the Gryffindor common room, but when they heard fighting noises from right in front of them, Arthur led them to an empty classroom in the hope that no-one would discover them, Harry was sure. He would have been sure of it anyway, but the fact that Mr. Weasley pulled him into the classroom whispering "We better hide in here until they move on with the fighting. There's no need for you to get yourself killed!" was reassuring, too. He followed his stepfather into the dark room and they sat down on the farthest side of the room. The fighting went on and on for hours. Harry could hear people cry in agony. Were they Death Eaters or were they on his side? He could not tell for sure. The voices were too many for him to tell them apart.  
  
Harry didn't know for how long they had been hiding in this classroom by now. Minutes? Hours? Days? He had already lost the track of time. How were the others? Had the Death Eaters reached the Houses? He really hoped that his friends were safe, but as for now, he certainly couldn't be sure of anything. Finally, the voices seemed to move away from their hideout, yet even more minutes passed before they finally dared to peek out of the door to see if the air was clean. The sight that awaited them was far from pleasant. There were Death Eaters and people from the Resistance lying dead on the floor, their bodies disfigured from all the curses they had been hit with. It was awful. Harry noticed that Mr Weasley was scanning the bodies even more carefully than he did. Something in the back of his mind reminded him that the twins, as seventh years, had also been engaged in the battle. He wondered if they were all right. They just had to be! But there was no time for wondering. Harry's stepfather already grabbed him by the hand and dragged him off in the direction of the dormitories, in the direction of safety.  
  
They were running, trying to make it directly to the Gryffindor House. Harry was panting heavily from running up and down the changing stairs that seemed to have decided that he would not make it back there. Why was it that the school seemed to run rampant, too, whenever the situation was out of order?! But despite the spiteful stairs they made it to the right corridor. Relief and tiredness from running let them slow down the pace when they could already see the Fat Lady. Harry was so tired that he only wished to rest, but he was not sure he would be able to, regarding that the battle was still going on and he did not know who was on the winning side...  
  
And then, they froze. Something appeared just before the Portrait hole. Something... or someone. Harry screamed. He had dreamt of this person ever so often, but it was still horrifying to be confronted with a real Lord Voldemort. Not to forget that his scar was hurting so much that he thought his head would explode. All of this took no longer than a fraction of a moment. Then, they stood, wands out, two wands directed at the Dark Lord, one at the fifteen-years old boy whose only crime had been to survive a death attack by the Dark Lord. There was a strange silence hanging in the air around them. Not one of them moved. Had someone looked at them this moment, he'd thought he'd be looking at statues or wax-figures.  
  
Arthur was the one to break the silence at last. "You don't really think that you will get a chance to kill him, do you? You know as well as I do that as soon as you take a shot at whichever one of us, the other'll curse you. Why don't you just lay your wand down and spare us all of this experience?"  
  
The Dark Lord's face bared confusion and hurt. "Oh, it's this way, then? And there I thought the boy and Dumbledore meant nothing to you…"  
  
Harry was now looking from one to the other, looking very much confused. What were they talking about? Had Arthur been a spy for Dumbledore, too? It certainly looked this way. But he did not ask. He had to fight the horrific headache to be able to concentrate.  
  
"Oh, well, you don't honestly think that I would betray someone I admire this much?" Arthur continued. "Of course not! I would never betray someone I consider a real friend. There aren't that many people who'd I refer to as such, who are almost closer than my own family for me. I won't let such people get killed by anyone, especially by you. Avada Kedavra!"  
  
The spell hit Harry, who had not noticed that Arthur had turned on him by his last words, completely by surprise. Arthur looked up from the boy's body and smirked. "He trusted me right to his death, didn't he? Stupid boy."  
  
The face of Lord Voldemort was unreadable. Arthur had, once again, really proved his acting talent. Even he, the Dark Lord himself, had been convinced for a moment. He reached out a hand. "Well, you certainly managed to get the job that all my Death Eaters have failed, done. Well done, my friend."  
  
The battle went on until early hours, but not long before sunrise, the school was forced to surrender. The first rays of the sun painted Hogwarts' windows red, giving the old castle the look of being in flames. The Death Eaters and their allies were gathered at the castle steps, waiting for their leader, Lord Voldemort. This was his big moment. And he was going to enjoy it.  
  
He emerged from the castle to once more stand in front of his followers. He knew that this was expected from him and he wouldn't have had it any other way. He looked over the people gathered, and opened his mouth.  
  
"This is the beginning of a new world. A world of magic and magical creatures. A world that's free of Muggles, in which we can act freely with no need to hide. It's the beginning of our liberation. You all can be proud of having been a part of it, as you will continue to be as long as this fight for our freedom will last. There are still many who are too brainwashed to even want to be liberated from the bounds and boundaries we have been forced to live in because of the Muggles. I am sure, that many of them will soon enough realise that all of this is in their best interest, too, and they will join our ranks. As for this long, we will have to continue fighting. Some of our most famous opponents have already fallen. I was glad to hear that the traitor Snape had been punished, the message about Dumbledore's death also pleased me. Dumbledore has always been one of the greatest supporters of Muggles and has always helped in depressing our community. He has always been a symbol of Muggle- and Mudblood-lovers of our kind. With his death, we have set a sample. But there is one more famous opponent of ours who has found his death this night. Harry Potter was killed right outside the Gryffindor Tower. I am sure you all wonder who was the one who managed to complete the task that so many have attempted before and never succeeded. I'm sure you all know my most loyal follower for 18 years…" with these words, he opened the doors once again allowing Arthur to step outside and come to stand beside him. This was his reward. For the first time, he was being recognised as his Lord's follower among the Dark Lord's other, very surprised adherents. This was what he had always been working towards. He was officially on Lord Voldemort's side now.  
  
The End  
  
A/N: So, this is it. No more Spy. I hope you liked it. As for the ones who have asked me if there is going to be a sequel – I think you all can see that there is no way for a sequel for this story, as I killed off most of the main characters and Arthur's person is no more secret, either. I still hope you enjoyed reading this. Well, let me know what you thought of the story. It's the very last chapter so please, if you haven't reviewed before, do it now and even if you have, I'll be glad to hear what you thought of it. So please, please review.  
  
--Altair 


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